


Glad You Came

by ninanna



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Drama, Friendship, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2014-06-14
Packaged: 2018-01-22 00:54:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 77,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1569965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninanna/pseuds/ninanna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aomine has been a pro basketball player in NBA for a couple of years now and has recently transferred to a new team, moved to a new city. While drowning in his homesick blues, he meets a familiar face from his past, Kise Ryouta, who has also recently moved to the city to further his modelling career.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

When he felt the coldness of the glass on his cheek, he half opened his eyes to see the flow of the city as the car slowly but surely moved towards their destination. Apart from the way the streets were so crowded and the lights – _oh so many of them_ – played and danced in the evening sky, this city was quite alien to him. Like the other two he had lived in the last few years. How many years would it take for him to get used to this new land?

It was not that he was not used to it per se, he was used to it in a sense that his daily life went quite smoothly but every now and then he would stop for a second or blink for a second and realise that after all, no, this place... this place was not home. Oh and people sure had been doing their best to remind him that. In every goddamn interview. In every goddamn magazine article. In every goddamn commercial. In every goddamn match review. In every goddamn...

"Um sir..."

He turned his bored gaze towards his driver for the evening, a man in his forties.

"Um, could I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"You are Daiki Aomine right?"

Aomine gave a slight smirk and returned his gaze to its old place towards the car's window...

"I sure am."

"Wow... I mean I do drive for many famous people but I have never driven for a star basketball player. I mean I had heard the rumours that my guest tonight would be an athlete but I had no idea it would be you! I don't understand basketball at all to be honest but my son is a huge fan of yours, sir. Everyone says you are _the Japanese Miracle_!"

Aomine's smirk fell awkwardly off his face.

"So what?"

"Huh?"

"So what if I am Japanese?"

"Ah... well, it's just you know it is not common for Japanese or Asians in general to be good at these kinds of sports I guess, so..."

"Who says that?"

"I – I am sorry if I offended you sir."

It was not that he was offended at this specific instance, it was that he was offended at being reduced to his race constantly by the media. People treated him as an exotic oddity, a curious existence and the word "Japanese" and a myriad of all things this country considered "Japanese" (which honestly was not that many and were not all correct) kept to be the main themes whenever he was covered in the media. At the beginning he felt a variety of feelings regarding this, from sincere amusement to some sort of national pride at times, but at this point he was simply tired of it. How many years would it take for him to be praised solely with regards to his strength and talents?

He sighed.

"I don't have anything with me to sign on or anything to sign with really... but if you want we could take a picture together? For your kid?"

The driver gave out a sigh of relaxation at the nice offer Aomine had broken the awkward silence with.

"Ah thanks sir, if you don't mind, it would be awesome. I am sure he would love it."

The rest of the drive continued mostly in silence and once they stopped Aomine leaned towards the driver's seat so that the man could take a picture with his mobile phone. He flashed his signature mixture of a smirk and a cheerful smile. As he left the car, entered the building, and took the elevator to reach the top most floor, he thought that maybe he was making too much of a deal out of all that. Maybe he was simply homesick. Maybe this new city and this new team would open a new chapter in his life here – despite how cliché it sounded – and maybe he would grow to like this city more than the other two he lived before. Maybe...

"Aomine ah welcome – look, I swear I didn't ask them for this theme. Before you get all pissed off, they are really just trying to welcome you in a warm way, that's all!"

His manager said in a single breath at the door of the terrace bar that was being reserved for his welcome party. His eyebrow started twitching with irritation.

_Same shit._

_Again._

The female hostess at the door and the servers inside were all clad or rather scantily clad in kimonos, at least that's what they were supposed to be he thought – not that real kimonos were so short, with multiple slits, and such low-cut necklines. The hostess, a little confused at why Aomine's manager had run to the door and said such words, explained with a genuine smile that he was welcome and that it was so nice seeing him and informed him that this party for him would be _Asian_ -themed, as she guided him inside.

" _Asian_ -themed? The whole continent? Wow, you guys are sure a thing."

The hostess was bewildered now and didn't quit understand why Aomine was sulking or what he had meant with his comment, his manager on the other hand smiled and told her that she would instead continue with guiding Aomine.

"Look, seriously, they are just trying to..."

"Welcome me. I got it. No worries. Not the first time anyway. It is just frustrating to be slapped with this idiocy every single time somebody celebrates something related to me. You know, it is not even amusing any more. Whatever. It could be worse huh, at least nobody is calling me slurs."

He grabbed a drink from a server's tray, "come on, introduce me again to people that I had already been introduced to so that I can endure their introductory bullshit again so that we can be done with this... whatever this is."

As he went through the night, he could not fathom whether he was truly used to this or not. Still, he went ahead with it. Not disappointing his manager who had pleaded with him so many times before and now, he smiled, he endured the ugly jokes, he made some snide but loveable or at least laughable comments, ensured that he drank enough to relax him but not too much and be nice to the resident otaku (in case of his new team it was the dorky point guard who had come to this particular party cosplaying as Naruto). After the introductions he was finally let free and he decided go to the open-air section of the terrace that others had mostly abandoned due to slightly cold and windy weather of the late September nights in the East Coast. He stood at the corner that was the farthest away from the noise of those inside and the few people who were making out outside (" _Hmm I guess they don't mind the cold?_ "). Slowly drinking like this, gazing upon the city lights wasn't so bad, he thought. He thought that despite all, he could get used to, he could grow to like this. Well, not this  _this,_ but this  _this –_ the beautiful city that was laid in front of him _._  " _I am simply a little homesick_ " he thought, yes that was the reason why he had been so irritated these few months. Many things had happened in the last few months, including that crazy incident with the police right after he had moved here, and well, it was normal for him to be bothered and tired, he thought. Maybe he would take a break next Summer and visit back home. Yes, that would make him happy. If he could only deal with this till then. He could, why not; he had already been living in America for years now.

"Aominecchi!"

" _Oh great"_  thought Aomine,  _of all the things I could hallucinate about home, I am hearing the stupid nickname Kise gave me_.

He was definitely drunk. Did he drink that much? He thought he had not.  _Weird_.

"Hey Aominecchi!"

Aomine's head fell down a bit as he leaned towards the fancy railings. _This is really ridiculous. Why the heck am I hallucinating about Kise..._

"Aominecchi! Hey!"

When he looked behind over his shoulder, his glass almost fell down from the surprise – and that would definitely be dangerous to the passers-by down on the streets.

"Kise?"

"Yes!" Kise said, smiling.

Kise Ryouta was standing behind him in all his... well, not glory but pretty boy shine, one could say. His face was slightly maturer as was the tone of his voice but he sounded and looked as cheerful and cheeky as he had always been. Also, like always, he looked as if he had just come out of the cover of a men's fashion magazine, he surely was stylish.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Aw, you first pretend to not hear me and then this is the first thing you say? You are so mean like always Aominecchi."

Kise pouted in his usual half-serious half-joking way as he approached closer.

"No seriously, what are you doing here? Why are you here?"

Aomine asked, puzzled, now his back turned to railings as he faced Kise.

"Well, I should actually be the one asking you that considering I have been a resident of New York City for 4 months now. But then we all know why you are here I guess. The whole city. The whole world probably."

"For real? You've been living here for 4 months? Why?"

"Work."

"Work? You could not be playing basketball, right? I mean I would hear about it."

"Always the basketball-head, Aominecchi" Kise giggled though the cheer in his voice faded away as he continued,

"You know my knee. I mean it doesn't bother me during the day and I can even play once a week or so... but being a regular in a team could very well cripple me, is what doctors say. So yeah, I could not play basketball even if I wanted and plus, really, Aominecchi, it is not that easy to become pro though it may have felt so for you."

Aomine bit his lip a bit, he should not have said it that way. He remembered the depression Kise had gone through when the situation of his knee had deteriorated suddenly by the end of high school. He had simply not thought of any other reason why Kise would move over here. Then he remembered and slightly smiled,

"So you have finally become a pilot and moved over here or something?"

Kise was genuinely surprised and thus giggled as he also slightly leaned towards the railing near Aomine,

"As much as I am delighted to hear that you still remember my childhood wish to become a pilot, no, Aominecchi, and really, becoming such a pilot would take time, I am not even that old yet. I am still modelling. Earlier this year I accepted the offer of an agency here so I came."

"Ah", Aomine sighed, maybe he was disappointed a bit,  _but him making it here must mean he is really good_ , he thought. Then it dawned on him,

"Hey, none of that explains why you are _here_  at this party though?"

"Ah yes well that is a little bit of a strange story... You see a female model friend was invited to this party apparently and some of the other girls were tagging along with her and they kind of invited me too."

"Oh you had told them that we went to same middle school?"

"No, not really. They actually thought since I am Japanese I should tag along."

They looked at each other with eyes that silently told " _you are kidding_ " and " _no I am not kidding at all_ " and then burst out laughing at the same time.

"I can't believe it..."

"Normally I would say no but hey I was already thinking that it would be great if we met but was not sure how to approach and this was a golden opportunity."

"So how have you liked the party so far?"

"Well... It is... It is fun I guess? I mean that guy in Naruto cosplay was interesting. Drinks are top-notch. Sushi is pretty good. Oh and boobs. Yeah, lots of boobs. I didn't know kimonos could ever expose so much cleavage. So maybe they actually know you pretty well even if they are a bit off on our culture."

Aomine laughed so much that he thought he had never laughed like this for a long time. It was not just the ridiculousness of their situation but the way Kise's face jumped from gesture to gesture as he commented on the party was very amusing. He felt much relaxed as he turned around, facing the city and night sky again, Kise also turned.

"That kind of stuff doesn't even interest me any more really..."

"Oh my... Well, orientations can change or rather expand too."

Aomine laughed again and he almost dropped his glass – _again_.

"Not really, I still like... _the beauty of female form?_  Oh who am I kidding, fine I still like large breasts, but I must admit that I am especially tired of the kimono or Japan or Asia inspired fetish thing they have been bombarding me with since I moved over here."

Kise did not say anything. But for the first time for the last few months during which he had complained more than usual regarding the strange fetishisation he was being treated with, Aomine felt understood and content. After a few moments of silence, Kise said,

"You know, this is nice. To be honest, I have been feeling a bit homesick... Specially the last few weeks. Even speaking in my mother tongue like this... I have been missing it so much. I even go to Japanese restaurants insistently just so that I can speak some Japanese. Well, unfortunately it turns out most are not really operated by Japanese people so I get stuck with waiters who can't even really pronounce the names of the meals correctly but oh well..."

Aomine giggled a bit and he was a bit surprised that he actually giggled or rather that he was capable of "giggling" like a child. Still, he replied,

"I think I kind of get it, being homesick that is... I have been craving some good ramen... Like proper ramen."

"Ah! There is actually an amazing ramen place that I know of. I go there regularly."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Hey, how about we go there sometime when we both are free?"

"Sure that would be cool."

The duo spent most of the night chatting away about silly things and ordinary things, but somehow these very banal things amused them a lot. By the time Kise had to leave as he had an early photoshoot the next day, Aomine was feeling much more cheerful. They exchanged numbers and decided on which day to go to the ramen shop together.

On the way home, Aomine smiled and mumbled the tune of Teikou Middle School's anthem, watching the dance of the city lights outside the car's window and his manager, sitting beside him, commented happily that despite all his grunting he must have enjoyed the party. Aomine nodded his head sarcastically. At that point in time, he was still not aware of how much he had enjoyed himself and exactly due to whom.


	2. Chapter 2

Aomine was a bit surprised at the ramen place Kise took him as it was rather, for lack of a better word... Shabby? It really did not match Kise's stylish appearance. But then appearances could be misleading, Aomine quickly was taught again, the moment he tasted the meal placed in front of him. From the aroma of the broth to the taste of the noodles to the texture of the meat, it was perfect. The owner of the little shop, a man in his late 50's, himself was serving them and treated Aomine in a strangely mixed attitude, both as a young son and a national hero which, honestly, made Aomine feel more comfortable and also a little shier than he had ever been in a restaurant in ages.

When they left restaurant, after a lengthy discussion in which the owner insisted that the meals had to be on the house and they didn't need to pay, and Aomine signed a bunch of items, and also promised to come back at the first chance, he felt much fuller and also much younger. He was not sure why he was reminiscing of his teenage years but Kise begging and almost forcefully taking him to a candy shop, which he claimed to be the best place to have a milk shake around here, might have added to the nostalgia. As he slurped the grape-berry protein-packed smoothie he bought, he gave a side glance at Kise who was happily slurping his own vanilla milkshake.

"I didn't know you liked vanilla shakes."

"Nah, I mean they are okay but not my favourite or anything. I just thought it would be nice to have it as it reminds me of Kurokocchi."

"Reminiscing about Tetsu by drinking vanilla shakes? What are you a lovesick 14 years old girl?"

"Says the man who was what, ' _ex-light_ ' of Kurokocchi? I mean I never claimed to be his ' _light_ ' or was ' _partners_ ' with him y'know..."

Kise specifically elongated the way he pronounced the words "light" and "partner" which made Aomine, who till that point was giggling at his own joke, to not just stop giggling but also to gag and spit out some of his smoothie out of sheer surprise at Kise's cheeky comments. With his cheeks adorning a slight blush, he replied,

"What the heck Kise? We were just kids then, okay? When you are that young, you are inevitably a little dorky."

Kise started laughing quite loudly,

"Oh like always Aominecchi is the best one to tease. And you know I do love Kurokocchi and I am sure you do as well, I think he has been a great friend to all of us really. I don't know how we would turn out to be if he didn't help us through our teenage angst. It is funny when you think about it, he was the most mature of us despite the one who looked the most childish."

Aomine nodded his head, what Kise was saying was surely true but he did not feel comfortable admitting them vocally. Maybe he still had a lot of way to go to be an adult and being an adult was not something that magically happened when you were over 21 years of age. He felt like changing the subject,

"Do you know where we are going? It feels like we are just randomly walking."

"But we are just randomly walking..."

"Okay... that was unexpected. Thought you would be dragging me to some other weird location."

"Being a meanie again just because you can't properly express your feelings of friendship?"

Aomine gave a half-joking angry glance and Kise smirked,

"Fine fine... I don't know, I just like walking randomly and freely like this I guess. I was not a big star or anything, still, back in Japan I had some following as you know and especially in recent years it had become harder for me to just randomly walk in the streets. People would always stop me or whisper to each other about me, some paparazzi could always jump out to take a picture. It was tiring. Since I moved here, nobody has been bothering me like that – I am not sure if I should be happy since it means I have a long way to go with my career over here – but somehow it makes me feel relaxed and content and I like it..."

He felt that he had talked too much so he stopped.

"I kind of get it."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I am luckier I guess, if I put on a bit of a disguise – like the glasses and the knit cap today – people don't really recognise me easily over here. But yeah, the last year when I visited Japan it was especially a big uproar. Reminds me... we didn't see each other last time I came, you were in Europe or something right?"

"Yeah, I was able to get some jobs over there, a great breakthrough for me really."

Kise's feet slowed down and his eyes stared at the small streetball court across the street, when Aomine realised this, he naturally commented,

"Ah too bad we don't have a ball with us. Or if somebody were playing we could borrow it..."

Kise was surprised.

"You would play now?"

"Why not?"

"We just ate and we are still stuffing ourselves as we speak?"

"So? Didn't we do it often when we were younger?"

"Yeah the keyword: 'younger'."

"Kise, we are not that old."

"I know but... anyway."

Aomine at first was nerved at Kise's reluctance, for _how could he be so reluctant when it came to basketball..._?! It was not just infuriating to Aomine but also very awkward considering how passionate Kise had always been about the sport. But a few seconds later, he felt that unlike his own situation, Kise's relation with basketball was probably much more sensitive right now. Was he being insensitive like usual? How could he not read the mood properly? He used to have much better insight and intuition towards his friends' basketball. They had started to walk again, albeit at an even slower pace, and an awkward silence had fallen upon them. He decided to break it as smoothly as he could,

"Well since you did inform me of a great ramen place, I think the least I can do is to show you my own generosity. Kise Ryouta, you are invited to my first official opening match with my new team. VIP tickets."

Kise smiled,

"You sure Aominecchi? That is too much of an honour for a peasant like me to bear."

"Yes I am sure but please do not shout anything like 'Aominecchi' during the game."

"Aw, you meanie..."

Kise jokingly pushed his shoulder to Aomine which made him almost drop his smoothie,

"God... Kise, you are a goddamn brat, I swear to God you are."

Aomine said, while his eyes were giving an irritated glare to Kise, he was oddly and slightly smiling.

 


	3. Chapter 3

The next time they met, it was again Kise who invited Aomine out. He had heard excellent reviews of a new, up-scale sushi bar and was pretty hyped up about it. After about 5 minutes of begging on the phone, Aomine relented and they arranged to meet. It was a particularly classy place and Aomine thanked God that he had decided to come wearing dress pants and a jacket, on top of his t-shirt; his initial idea of going out in sweatpants could have caused him to not be allowed in, he thought for a second. Kise – like always – was very stylish and Aomine thought that somehow the young man fit these kind of places especially well. Well, better than himself at least. Interestingly though, as soon as they started to eat, their mature façades fell apart and both felt very much out of place, despite their pay-checks not being any less wholesome than any other guest visiting the restaurant that night.

The verdict they came up with, after leaving the sushi bar, was that yes, it had some very tasty sushi but no, it was not a place they would go again. Kise joked that it could be a good spot for a date and Aomine noted this in his mind; his relations with women were pretty casual and he did not really date (drunken nights of passion after partying did not count as dating) but if he ever did date, this place would indeed be a good location. It was Kise who suggested they visited one of his favourite pubs, which he swore was very close by. It turned out not to be the case but once they reached it, Aomine did understand why it was one of Kise's favourites – and would be one of his favourites as well: it had a homey feeling, similar to the ramen place. " _Maybe_ ", he thought, " _unlike his aura, our model friend is pretty modest and prefers simple, homey environments than glamorous ones._ "

The next time they met, just a few days after the sushi bar adventure, was completely out of coincidence. Kise was the last person Aomine was expecting to see while slurping on the noodles of his ramen at the place Kise had taken him initially but had already become a regular hideout for him. Kise came through the door with a loud and cheerful greeting and upon seeing Aomine sitting alone, simply jumped to the chair across him at the table as if invited. He was not in any way invited. But what could Aomine do? And unfortunately, before Aomine could hide it, Kise did see what was he looking at on his tablet sitting next to his bowl, a tabloid article with the title: " _Amakata Miho: Is She the New Horikita Mai?_ "

The next 10 to 15 minutes were spent with Kise trying to tease Aomine regarding his hobbies, but Aomine had never shied away from declaring his love for... _the beauty of the female form_. And he liked idols. And models. And he liked reading tabloids. _So what_? Everyone had their interests. After the ramen, even though neither of them had explicitly mentioned it, as though it was the natural course of events, they both walked to the candy shop from last time and this time Aomine took a vanilla shake while Kise took an orange cream milkshake. Neither commented on Aomine's particular choice, Kise later said, smiling, that it was getting too cold for milkshakes. Aomine nodded in agreement. They soon separated and went to their own ways.

They did not meet again until the opening match. Both were very busy and this absence was not really felt by either of them in any form.

When the big night came, admittedly Kise was very nervous... He watched the court, his ears slightly ringing from the loud cheers and music and shouts – any and all kinds of sounds imaginable were being thrown around. He had not seen a professional court in a long time, since all of the gang had come to see Aomine's first NBA game, and he felt what he thought one would feel meeting an old lover who was taken away from you forcefully. He felt some kind of heartburn and also a little dizzy in the head. Excitement tinged with stress was flowing in his veins. Was this okay? Could he survive this? He was not sure. He was not sure if he wanted to be here yet it felt great to be here.

All the muddled feelings, and the paranoia, and the second-guesses, and the anxiety were cut away and disappeared in a single moment as Aomine entered the court and Kise thought he saw the exact same smile Aomine had the day he hit him with a basketball, albeit now adorning an obviously older face without any of the baby fat it sweetly carried then. He thought that he had missed that smile, not only because it meant a lot to him as a friend to see Aomine enjoy this game so much but it also meant that Aomine would be  _playing_. Not simply doing a chore per the request of his team, no, but actually playing basketball: savouring every moment of it, unleashing a great passion rarely seen in court or anywhere else really... Aomine playing basketball was a sight to see, it was a true spectacle, it was a miracle unfolding...

And oh boy, did Aomine deliver on the expectations that smile signalled... Soon after the match started Kise felt his hands itching, his feet shaking; he wanted to be there and not here: not here spectating, but out there playing. His mind was in chaos, a pleasurable one nonetheless, analysing one move and then quickly moving onto the other, thinking how – just how he could copy this or that move, and hey, those few he did there, they were definitely new stuff. And despite the fact that it was not a dramatic match, despite the fact that Aomine and his team handled their rivals way too well, despite the fact that by the end of the second quarter the victor was already evident, Kise was excited, Kise was treating every time Aomine took the ball as a crucial moment and jumping up and down at every pass, at every shoot...

He did not shout "Aominecchi" even once during the whole game, per his promise, but by the time he was outside, cool breeze of Autumn licking his face, he dried his slightly wet eyes by the back of his hand and did whisper "Ah Aominecchi..." to the wind.

" _He is perfect_ ", he thought. And honestly, Aomine was when it came to basketball.

But more importantly now, his shaking hands checked the time on his phone once more as he waited outside, at a back street about a block away from the venue. He had texted, or rather begged via text, for Aomine to meet him after the match. He had thought that Aomine would refuse him and call him an idiot, and really, it was an idiotic request, but to his surprise, Aomine had replied a simple "OK". So here he was trying to contain the turmoil inside him, focusing on the pavement, trying to imagine some of the moves he had seen earlier and just what he would need to do to replicate them.

"Oi!"

"Ah, you came."

"Duh, you told me to."

"Yeah, yeah I did."

Kise looked at Aomine's puzzled and slightly bored and doubtlessly tired face.

"So?"

"I will ask for something really stupid from you but it is really important for me so I really think that you should--"

"God... Kise just spill it."

"Ah okay... Well... Can you please play a one-on-one with me?"

Kise bowed respectfully as he loudly declared his request. Aomine was very amused but didn't let it show on his face,

"I can't believe you. You do realise that I just came out of an official match right?"

"Yes!"

"Yes what?"

"But... and I know you are tired too... but... but you know what, it is your fault! You just had to invite me. How do you expect me to not want to play after I see  _you_  play, you know it's impossible. You have to play a one-on-one with me!"

Aomine let out a loud "tch", he liked how Kise was so motivated now, especially after his earlier reluctance about basketball, but did not want to let his teasing go either,

"You are delusional. I am tired. And I am hungry."

"But you should be fine after a few hours of rest right? You can rest and eat and then we can play? Hey, you know what, I'll treat you! It's on me. I'll take you to wherever you want to eat – even that expensive sushi place, anywhere is fine. Anything you want. But please, play a one-on-one with me tonight."

Aomine realised that he was enjoying this way too much and it did disturb him a little how much he liked Kise acting so desperate yet obsessed about basketball like this, with him of all people. But there was no surprise in that maybe, it was very much how their relationship was when they were teens. He let out a loud sigh,

"Fine. Whatever. Minetta Tavern."

"Huh?"

"You've never heard of it? They make delicious burgers. You are taking me there and treating me. And then, since I am feeling so gracious today and also to celebrate my victory, I will play you. You do know you will lose though, right?"

"Well this time I will probably, I haven't faced anybody like you in a long time."

Aomine laughed at that,

"This time? You will never win against me. Also, you can never face anybody like me. There is nobody like me."

Rest of the whole night almost passed in the blink of an eye for Kise; despite spending hours with Aomine, first taking him to the restaurant he wanted, then eating there with him, then resting a bit at a nearby coffee shop, all the while talking and talking endlessly about basketball, and finally when they felt ready, finding the nearest streetball court and playing... All the hours full of joy, he had not felt in a long long time, simply felt like a single moment of glory at the end. Why did the time pass so eagerly fast when it mattered that it did not?

As he walked home from his car, her tried to remember every single detail of the game he played with Aomine but it felt like a herculean task. He was so absorbed while playing, he was so consumed, he could not remember anything about it. They had played for about 40 minutes or so, when Aomine finally said that _(a)_ he was too tired of beating Kise so bad like this, and _(b)_ he was also just too tired of the sheer physical strain of the day. After Kise's endless bawling and whining, he did promise that "maybe later" they would play again which was the hope Kise was clinging to for his dear life now. He felt so frustrated that he could not play more, when he realised how he had become a "basketball-head" again, so quickly, in a single night, he could not contain his laughters. He was utterly and absolutely and completely defeated by Aomine but that was to be expected and interestingly, despite his knee, despite his lacking stamina, despite his now very painfully aching muscles, he was full of rigour and motivation. He could watch more games, from other teams as well, and expand his database of moves and gameplay. He could do this. He could win against Aomine one day. He was not sure why he was so confident of being able to one day beat Aomine, a pro NBA player if nothing else, but his naïve confidence was somehow fully assured inside. He laughed at this too.

Maybe because his laughters cleared off his mind, he finally realised the silent vibrations flowing across the leather of his messenger bag. He opened and found his phone, and froze upon seeing the caller id. He was a couple of steps away from his own doorstep. Then an endless giggling took the place of sheer surprise and then he tried his best to swallow all the giggling and received the call.

"I cannot believe you Ryouta! Where have you been?! I have been calling you for hours now..."

"I am so sorry..."

"For what? Because you stood me up? Or because you didn't even receive my calls? I was worried."

"I am really sorry... I know we were supposed to meet after I had watched the game but things came up and my mind drifted..."

"You forgot?!"

"It is not exactly like that but I was just so busy... Let's say, I didn't have time in the end."

"You didn't even have time to inform your date?"

"I am sorry. I really am. I will make it up to you Michael, I swear."

"Promise?"

"Yes, I do. You will be a very very happy man after our next date and this will be completely forgotten."

"Ah, well, better sooner than later then, where are you?"

"Now? No way. Sorry but I just got home and I am too tired. Some time later this week, maybe?"

"You are such a tease."

"Ah but I thought you liked being teased?"

"You know me too well, fine, okay, later this week it is. By the way what happened exactly? Why were you held up?"

"A long story, really... I can't even remember half of it, really. So when are you free later this week?"

The conversation continued on and though his ears were listening to his _more-than-a-friend-less-than-a-lover_ partner, Kise's mind wandered off elsewhere, " _forgetting a date because I was too caught up playing basketball..._ " he thought, " _Aominecchi is right, maybe I am just a brat_ ". He naturally giggled at the end of that sentence of thought which cut Michael's speech off and he curiously asked,

"Hey, why are you laughing suddenly?"

"Ah nothing... I was just thinking that I am such a brat."

"Really? I always thought you were very mature. You act rather mature most of the time. Unless you are flirting."

"I do? Interesting. I guess one acts differently with different people."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. So yeah, you were talking about the concert last week?"

 


	4. Chapter 4

His whole schedule and plans were rewritten according to the season calendar. The weeks where there were home games, he tried to attend as many as he can, which often turned out to be 2 games per week. The problem was those weeks that did not have any home games, he would love to attend but travelling back and forth was problematic; the first time it happened and he could not watch a game the whole week, he pouted almost all week and had a terrible temper. When he told of his frustration to Aomine, he had laughed a lot, and commented again that Kise, was indeed a brat.

For the upcoming _week of terror,_ or rather week without any home games, he had done his planning in advance though and would be able to attend to one game. He had gotten great tickets too, though it had cost a lot, he did not really care much.

Basketball had conquered his life again so fast, he doubted that he ever stopped playing and admiring the sport. Indeed, why had he spent so many years after high school trying his best to avoid what was unavoidable? So what, if he was not a professional player or that he could not become one, these did not change the fact that he loved the game and that he could play. And he did play. Aomine almost always showed a mock-reluctance at first, nevertheless would agree to a one-on-one with him almost every week. It had taken a lot of begging and wailing at the beginning but now it was almost part of the official calendar for Aomine and Kise was truly astounded: he appreciated Aomine finding the time in his awfully packed schedule and extremely tiring season calendar and he was also amazed how the man could handle it all so well. They would often go to a place to eat or drink after the games as well and Kise was conspiring that perhaps Aomine was a mage with dominion over time and simply could modify time and space, create time or something. It was simply beyond human. Maybe Aomine was beyond human, at least when it came to basketball.

His work schedule was packed too and he had a good chance of getting a prominent job for the fashion week in February. Life seemed perfectly in synch and yet ecstatic, kind of like tango. Except his private life, that is.

"What do you mean you won't be in town next Friday?"

"It means I won't be in town; I am going to see a basketball game. I already planned it 2 weeks ago."

"I cannot believe you. We haven't seen each other for days."

"I will call you when I come back."

"Do you really have to go? I mean it is just a basketball game. You told me you are already watching two games this week again and that's why we had to cancel our date this Saturday, and last week you said you had to go watch-- "

"Look I told you that it is important for me."

"I don't remember you mentioning you loved basketball before the season actually started. It is as if you watched this one game and you got addicted or something..."

"I told you: I was a basketball player during middle school and high school, I always liked basketball. It was just... there were reasons that I stayed away from it for some time and now that I have found the joy in it again, I am a bit addicted I guess."

"Please, middle school or high school and what not... I mean do they even count..."

"Hey, they were very important for me."

"So they were and now that you have watched a game you are hooked again? This sounds like a joke… Is it someone else?"

"What?"

"Are you seeing somebody else?"

"Why would you even ask that?"

"I am sorry but this whole sudden basketball 'addiction' simply does not make sense to me. And you are cancelling our dates for it all the time the last few weeks. You are with somebody else, aren't you?"

"You know, you were the one at our first date who said that you are not looking for a committed or long-term relationship. That you just want something that is fun. And frankly, I welcomed it because I felt like that too."

"So you are with someone else!"

"I am not! What I am trying to say is that you are overreacting and not acting within the boundaries that you yourself set and I accepted. We may not have committed to each other but I am not a polyamorous person, not that there is anything wrong with being one, and regardless, if I preferred to be with somebody else I would let you know. I cannot believe you would question me like this."

"I am sorry and you are right but please, you do not even want me to come to watch a game with you!"

"You are not even interested in basketball, you would obviously be bored."

"So there is no other reason for all of this but just basketball?"

"God... You know, I did tell you that I really do not like possessiveness. You are not even my-- "

"Okay okay... I am sorry. I know I have been pushy. I guess I just have been feeling rather insecure about this sudden change. I will go and cool my head and then, maybe we can text later tonight and decide on a date to meet up the week after?"

"Fine."

"Is that a happy fine or a god-damn-it fine?"

"It's a fine  _fine_."

"Okay I won't push my luck any more I guess... huh. See you."

Though he was fairly upset over the petty argument he had with his... more-than-a-friend-less-than-a-boyfriend, Kise honestly forgot all about it in about an hour as he immersed himself in his plans for the week and after.

Things went pretty smooth for him for rest of the week and next week as well so the small alarm that had rung in his head regarding his private life was completely muted now. The out of town game turned out to be a great experience and he really liked the change, promising himself that he would try his best to do this again in the next _week of terror_ that would occur. What he was not expecting was to be texted by Aomine right after the match and asked to wait a couple of blocks away from the venue. Aomine appeared a bit later, worn out and non-stop complaining. Using a "food spotting" application on Kise's phone they chose what they thought to be the _closest-best_ restaurant around and ate together. Kise giggled at this particular memory during his flight back home the next morning, for it seemed absolutely natural for Aomine to meet up after the game, as though these mini-get-togethers they were doing after each game was an official post-game event or something. He did like it though. Aomine would always find something to complain about the game, about his team, about the rival team, and then there would be those rare instances where he would say something along the lines of " _you know Kise, if it was you, you would have definitely made use of that amazing pass, but that idiot, he just went ahead and blew my amazing pass_ " or " _how could he not dunk that? I mean Kise, you for example would have absolutely dunked it!_ ". And it was nice. It was nice hearing those rare instances because despite his sudden reunion with this capricious and endlessly demanding past love called basketball, there were moments (the moments in bed, right before you fall asleep, where you are alone with yourself) that even Kise, despite all the certainty he felt when the ball was in his hands, would doubt himself. In those moments he would just force himself to remember Aomine's words and they would make him feel better. He was not sure if Aomine knew how important those passing remarks were to Kise and he was not sure if he wanted Aomine to know, but he preferred to treasure them secretly.

When he arrived back home, he was informed of an unexpected and unfortunate news: later that week staff of a prominent fashion magazine were throwing a secret party for their chief editor and Kise was literally ordered by his manager to attend. It was all last minute and he would not be able to go to watch the game he had planned to watch that was taking place the same night as the party. He cursed his luck, the only other game he could go that week was on Sunday, the day when he was supposed to have a date. While he was waiting on the line for Michael, listening to the ringing, he recalled the conversation he had over almost two weeks ago and his heart tightened a bit, he hoped he would not fight this time, he really did not like petty arguing like that. To his surprise, while his partner did give a sigh of displeasure, he did not push or interrogate him like the last time. After the phone call, Kise dived into all the work that had to be dealt with for the week; he thought that all was going well. Very well, indeed.

Hearing the news that Kise had changed the game he would be able to attend this week actually humoured Aomine as that particular one was going to be tougher and thus one more enjoyable to play and to watch. He would win of course, regardless. And he did win. At one point, during a particularly crazy formless shot that left everyone at awe, and caused the rival team to call for a time-out immediate afterwards, for the fraction of a second his eyes wandered off to the particular location of Kise and saw the simultaneously amused and stunned smile on young man's face. He chuckled and admitted internally that he could never understand why Kise of all people would be in awe; he had seen it countless times for years and near the end of their high school careers was even able to stop it not just once but twice.

It was a tough game but it was after all yet another game he won. This time he did not send any text nor receive any but truthfully did not even realise this little detail as he walked to the backstreet they would always use to meet up after the home games, right after he wrapped up all the post-game affairs. There, Kise was waiting like always and his eyes shone like a child during Christmas upon seeing Aomine.

"Here comes the King! What was that formless shot in the third quarter? Please do explain me how did you defy gravity and the odds and not only managed to not fall on your back but also shoot so perfectly?"

"Don't know, it just happened somehow..."

Aomine grinned and Kise rolled his eyes,

"The worst part of your genius for the ordinary folk is the fact that you don't even know how it works. Making everyone jealous."

"Oh so you are jealous?"

"I am not part of the ordinary folk Aominecchi, you'll see that the next time we go one-on-one, I will be showing that exact shoot and you'll taste how it feels to be the receiving end of it."

"Always talking so big. You know the ace of the team today was also talking so big last week. Yet here I am always the victor, without any losses this season."

"And I am glad for it."

"Well you always loved seeing me win."

"True but now, really, I am happy that you win mostly because it means they could not win against you which will only make my win against you sweeter. I got to win against you before they do."

"Oh is that so pretty boy?"

Aomine ruffled Kise's hair teasingly, as they walked slowly, chatting, and Kise retaliated by slightly nudging and pushing Aomine's shoulder with that of his own,

"'Pretty boy'? Look at the person who calls me a brat, what are you, a 12 years old bully? And please, you don't have to admit it so subconsciously, I already know you are secretly jealous of my amazing looks."

"Is that so?"

Aomine snickered and pushed with his shoulder Kise this time.

"So this is what you do in your so-called 'basketball nights'? Ryouta?"

Kise stopped immediately and Aomine took off the disguise glasses he was wearing to see better; a man in his late 20's or early 30's, tall with a muscular figure was standing about 2 metres away from them and was staring directly at Kise. When he turned his gaze to Kise's face, he could swear he saw, just for a second, a couple of dumbfounded blinks, other than that Kise's perfect face stayed perfect. No obvious hint of a surprise. Though he did quickly walk towards the man and rather loudly exclaimed,

"Oh Michael! What a surprise! I just got out of the game, was going to grab something to eat with my friend..."

Aomine walked a bit closer to the duo, rather unenthusiastically as it seemed awkward for some reason, the stranger was staring at Aomine intently though and then suddenly turned to Kise,

"A friend, huh? Aomine Daiki, _the Japanese Miracle_ , is just a friend?"

"You know him? Geez, I thought you didn't like basketball. Aomine is actually an old friend of mine..."

"I knew there was something going on. I knew it was somebody else. But no, you were just 'addicted to basketball', was it?"

Kise seemed unfazed but Aomine was puzzled, just what the heck was going on and why on earth this stranger was interrogating Kise so harshly?! Could he be Kise's manager? But then he thought Kise's manager was a woman. And for some reason hearing Kise say "Aomine" felt wrong. Very wrong.

"I _am_ addicted to basketball... You wouldn't believe how much, actually just now we were--"

"Why are you acting so nonchalantly?! I caught you!"

Kise, for a second looked intently at the stranger and Aomine imagined that it looked like as though he was conveying a secret message...

"So he is not ready to know which way you swing either, is that it? What are your plans? Hang out with him till a drunken night where you can find the opportunity to jump him or something? You are working this hard so that one day, maybe, you will be able to screw a straight guy?! You have a basketball player fetish?"

While Kise's previous facial expression of _a coincidental meeting with an acquaintance_ completely left his face in the mere blink of an eye, making Aomine wonder just how talented Kise was in terms of acting and why the hell he was not changing his careers towards that, another composed expression settled on young model's face. Smiling, unperturbed yet with a strongly intimidating gaze, he talked, in a monotone voice too,

"Aominecchi is my friend. I've known him since middle school. And we are just friends. Because not so surprisingly, like any other human being, I am capable of making friends. And I am passionate about basketball, like many others out there; human beings can be passionate about many things, basketball happens to be mine. And just because we are dating does not mean you own me. We are not even lovers. And you know that I am not out, yet you insistently make remarks about my orientation and allege that I am out to attack my friends? How dare you! I do not want to see your face ever again and thank you, really, thank you, for ruining my night."

Aomine had never seen Kise talk so much, so fast, and in a tone so serious before. Aomine had also never seen before the expression on Kise's face as he abruptly turned to Aomine and at once said,

"I think I better leave. Keep up the good work, great game like always. Good night."

It was an awkward expression to see, not like the composed one he donned a second ago in his tirade; a broken, fragile smile that was anything but truly a smile and eyes that showed disappointment... and he could swear he saw Kise's lower lip slightly shake. As Kise walked away briskly and after a second of indecision the stranger leapt forward to chase him as well, Aomine stood in the middle of the pavement, left alone, confused, and rather lost.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Despite the fact that Aomine's team had 3 home games that week, Kise did not attend to any and knowing this frustrated Aomine significantly. He spent the whole week glaring, sulking, and constantly getting irritated at the smallest things, which meant hell for his teammates and eventually earned him a lecture from the coach. He was not a child and he could not play ignorant, nor did he thought there was any need for it. Sure, he had always been a simple man with attention and interest only in basketball, but he had grown up. Kise dated men and the current man he was dating was apparently a possessive, jealous jerk.

As days went by, he became both more curious and worried and questioned just why the hell he did not stop the man when he chased after Kise. To be fair, he had been pretty surprised and perplexed at that moment but even if he had not been, he was not sure if it was his place to interfere in a lover's quarrel. Still, what if the man had done something bad to Kise afterwards? He could not trust a stranger and the little he learnt and saw of the man was not good news at all. Hell with the etiquette, he should have just stopped the man... or perhaps not, he really, really did not want to be a meddlesome person either. All in all, he was confused and utterly frustrated.

He spent the days querying about _non-heteronormative_ (a word he had learnt as part of his querying) relationships and identities on Wikipedia and was surprised at certain things he learnt. He had never really cared about those around him or what they did in their private lives to ever look into these kind of things, really, and regarding himself, well, he had always appreciated the female form so it never occurred to him to question his own sexuality. He took his heterosexuality for granted. Indeed, he had been a simple, very simple man. He did not have any friends or relatives who were not straight either; but then apparently Kise was not straight and he could never, ever guess that, in a million years. Not because he was biased, but because, again, he would never ask the question in the first place. He had never been interested in the question itself, it was almost as if the question did not exist in his world in the first place: people were only described and identified with respect to their capacities and relations to basketball, not anything else. He felt ignorant.

And he was. The real world was not dominated by basketball and he was not a fifteen years old child to think it did. The only openly gay active NBA player, Terry Ramirez, was often called names and ridiculed for his sexuality even in regards to his professional mistakes; how silly was it, as though any changes in the condition of his play would have anything to do with who he liked. Aomine knew that regardless of how well the guy played, a "gay joke" would always be attached to discussions about him in sports channels and radio shows. Just like how "Asian jokes" would be thrown at Aomine constantly. He had started realising these kinds of things for some time now and had felt some sort of solidarity though Ramirez played in the Kings and they did not know each other, but now knowing that Kise was likely to be gay added a whole new dimension. Was Kise also being made into a "joke" so often? The worse, was he being bullied? He was Japanese too in a field where few Japanese, heck, few Asian men were even given any chance... He did recall Kise complaining now and then about the demeaning, racists comments he would receive but often simply tried to ignore and keep his positive attitude. Aomine himself was fed up with all the racist commentary and attitudes and he simply could not imagine how Kise would deal with both racism _and_ homophobia.

Yet he did not know. He did not know anything about Kise, if he was indeed having these kind of troubles or not, if he could help him or not. He did not know anything. When the new week arrived, with only a single game at home and two others out of town, he hoped and also assured himself that Kise would definitely come to this one. His hopes did not deliver.

He was so angry after the game, despite knowing that nobody would come, he still went to that backstreet and waited there for about 15 minutes. The cold air of late autumn could not do anything to clear his mind, unfortunately, and when he went back home, he could not even sleep because of the many thoughts that ran across his mind undeterred by his completely exhausted body.

When he woke up at 7 am, he felt like crap, his whole body and head hurt, and while every single cell of his body was begging him to just shut his eyes and try his best at going back to sleep, he got up, found his cell phone and called Kise. It took way too many rings for Kise to receive the call.

"What a surprise Aominecchi, but isn't it a bit early? What is it?"

"Don't 'what is it' me. You damn well know what is it."

"Maybe I am still too sleepy but no actually I do not--"

"No you fucking know way too well what it is. Where the heck were you all last week? And you did not even come to the game yesterday. You know very well the other two games will be out of town this week."

"Ah you won't believe this but I have been extremely busy and--"

"Don't lie to me. You plan your schedule in advance to complement the season calendar. And if something ever comes up that you are too busy to miss 4 games in two weeks, you would call me just to vent and rant about how much you want to come to a game but you couldn't and how unfair the world is and what not. You would bawl like a baby. You did not even call me!"

"You do not understand. Look--"

"No I do understand. I know why you did not come. It is because of what happened last time isn't it? With that Michael guy?"

"Look... it is complicated."

"It is not complicated. I think it is very simple: you date men. Whatever. What is it to me which way you swing, anyway?!"

"What?"

"What 'what'? I don't get this, okay? I just don't get why you would avoid me and you know what forget me; even avoid basketball because what, I learnt that you like and perhaps desire men? So what? It is your life. I have known you for what, a decade now? And you think that my opinion of you, that you are a goddamn spoilt and annoying brat, built upon years spent together, knowing each other will just evaporate because I learnt you date men?"

"Aominecchi..."

"I just can't believe you. I mean... Do you think I am that bigoted? I am not a child or a hateful person Kise."

"I know you are not, but I was just..."

Kise's voice was shaking and Aomine thought that perhaps he was being too pushy and aggressive. He was still quite ignorant, it was not right that he was acting like this...

"Look I am not trying to bully you... I am just hurt that you would think so lowly of me."

"No, I get it, you are not bullying me... I am just... You are right. I should never have doubted you. You have never been a prejudiced person. It was my mistake to think that you would... It... just was not nice you know? I would prefer to tell you properly myself some time in the future. Not like that. And the things he said, about me having ulterior motives and jumping you and stuff... I just thought that you would--"

"Please! I know you! You are not someone who would ever do something like that to me or to anybody, why would you even think that I would be swayed by that guy's words? I don't know how long he has known you but he sure didn't understand you truly. What does he think you are, a rapist? Yuck! For God's sake... and like, let me be frank, but that guy was too much of a prick."

"What?"

"I would never interfere in your private life and I am not saying this to do so but yeah, I am sorry but it seems you have bad taste in men."

Kise started laughing uncontrollably and loudly, and Aomine was yet again struck with an awkward feeling of helplessness; had he said something wrong? Something strange? Something funny?

"Oi, stop laughing... Why are you laughing? Did I say something strange? I was just being honest and I am sorry if I badmouthed your boyfriend but what he did was inexcusable."

"He was not my boyfriend and what you said was not strange nor was it wrong. It is just..."

"It is just what?"

It took a moment for Kise to finally control his laughter but he still sounded a little funny when he spoke,

"I spent over a week with little to no sleep because I was too nervous and anxious about how you would react and whether or not you would ever want to see me again or if I could ever play one-on-one with you and you just call me and tell me that I have bad taste in men..."

"So? You have crappy expectations of me and that is not good."

"Hahaha... Aominecchi, yes maybe I was thinking too lowly of you but I think it is just you being too amazing."

"Your pleasantries will not right your wrongs."

"Oh, really?"

"Of course you idiot! You really think that with this flimsy attitude you will ever be able to win against me? Spending over a week not watching any games, which means not studying any moves, and not practising against me either. Forget that you thought so lowly of my character, how could you think so lowly of my talent?"

"You are mad about that?"

"Damn right I am!"

"Hahahah... God Aominecchi, please stop amazing me too much, I will go into that mode fanboy mode that irritates you so much."

Aomine simply "tch"ed to the phone but a smile and a light blush had crept his face. His whole morale had been restored.

"As a punishment you have to make time and watch one of the out of town games."

"All right, sir Aominecchi, I shall."

"And you will never do anything stupid like this."

"No I won't."

"Good."

"Now, can we turn the tables?"

"Ha? Turn the tables for what?"

"What kind of a game was it last night?!"

"Huh?"

"Don't 'huh' me Aominecchi. The fact that I didn't go to the venue to watch the game, does not mean I did not watch it. I watched it on TV and you were so bad. You were quite bad last week as well."

"Hey, we won all our games."

"So you are content with winning? Now you are disappointing me."

"You are such a jerk Kise, I swear to God. I played way too many games and I was tired and what, I don't have to show all my talent in all games anyway and I had too much in mind too, I couldn't focus properly at times..."

A silence consumed the next few seconds...

"You had...  _too much_  on your mind?"

"Uh... yeah..."

"Wow, I didn't know you were that worried about me Aominecchi?"

"I was not! Who said it was you?"

"Oh my bad, so what was that clouded your mind so much that you could not focus on...  _your basketball_?"

"Stop with all the weird intonations implying stuff okay... I was just... I don't know... I think I might have PTSD due to Horikita Mai's retirement. Yes, that must be it."

"Didn't she retire like... two years ago?"

"Yeah but... Wait a second, how the hell do you know that?"

"Um... You are not the only one who follows up with these kinds of things..."

"I thought you were gay. Wait are you bisexual?"

"I  _am_  gay. And you don't have to be straight to be interested in idols and hey, you are forgetting that I am part of entertainment world in a way. Especially back home."

"Hmm... I don't know. You were never interested in her when she was in her prime, you know when we were in high school. What changed?"

"It is a long story..."

"Oh is that so?"

Their conversation went on and at one point Aomine simply sneaked back into the bed, the weather was getting too cold for his liking these days. They talked and talked, and the conversation never really touched Kise's orientation again; the things they talked were mostly mundane, their work and frustrations during the week, which they normally discussed at their regular post-game meet-up but were not able to last week, were instead easily and finally exchanged now. By the time they ended the call, Aomine realised that his temple and hand were wet with sweat. He did not recall ever talking with anybody on the phone for so long, for hours, but then this whole thing was pretty new for him. He did not spare much thought to any of this though and somehow his mind felt so much at ease and the sleep beautifully wrapped around him, he could not help but fall asleep. As he drifted into sleep he knew that both the coach and his manager would throw a huge fit about this (him spending his day in sleep rather than going to training) but really, he did not care, and thanked God that his amazing talent did allow him this much of luxury.

In the next weeks what happened was that their old routine came back and the only difference was that now it was much stronger; now Kise would often go to watch live at least one out of town game as well. He had also developed an interest in watching the Western conference games and Aomine was very happy about this as Kise would replicate quite a few of the key moves of top Western conference players during their one-on-ones; Aomine believed this would be an advantage for him later. In addition to their post-game meet-ups, they had turned their initial restaurant-visiting into an almost regular biweekly restaurant-testing like some weird gourmet duo. It was not limited to Japanese cuisine either any more as they visited any kind of place, from Italian pizzerias to Korean barbecue places, from shabby back alley shops to famous  _haute cuisine_  restaurants. Over the time Aomine realised that though they talked about almost anything and everything, Kise rarely mentioned anything about his private life. Neither did Aomine but then Aomine did not even date and casual intercourses he had here and there with mostly strangers were not things to talk about with friends, however close. Only once, after Aomine had inquired whether or not Michael had approached him improperly again, Kise talked a bit about his situation. Yes, early on, he had indeed disturbed Kise again but Kise threatened by saying that he would file a stalker report with the police.

"He thought I wouldn't because I am not out... but I made sure he understood that I would do it even if it outed me. I am not going to be bullied and blackmailed by him. I am ready to take action and bear the consequences if needed to protect myself from him. I may be easygoing but I am strong." Kise had said and it was true, Kise was strong. A little later, when they were talking about middle school, Kise had mentioned that it was during late middle school he had first realised his inclinations and though he approached some girls then, thinking that he was just going through a phase, by the end of first year in high school he was already certain of his homosexuality. It did not bother him and he was not ashamed of his identity, however, he did not wish to share it with whole world yet... In a passing comment, he had also mentioned that Kuroko, Akashi, and Momoi knew of his orientation.

This displeased Aomine somehow; sure Tetsu knew, the man was a master of observation, and sure Akashi knew because well, he was  _Akashi;_  but Satsuki? Satsuki would never figure it out by herself, it must have been Kise who shared this with her and this for some reason bothered Aomine. Why not him but Satsuki? Wasn't he closer to Kise? Well... they were mostly a quartet during middle school: Aomine, Kise, Tetsu, and Satsuki. He could not exactly remember when their trio had become a quartet, just how Kise had squeezed his way in, but they had eventually become that... Why was he the only one who did not know? Even though out of the others he was probably the one who spent the most time with Kise in those days.

In a cold winter night, as he walked home after drinking with Kise these questions flew around in his mind; they had reminisced about middle school years and somehow talking about those had brought these questions to his mind again. After his recent years in the sunny beaches of the West Coast, the cold winter air of East Coast was killing him and somehow flared his irritation even more. He felt as though the wind were a thousand needles pricking his cheeks and sneaked his face further into his large muffler. After giving it some thought he decided that he should not have been surprised that he didn't know that much about Kise or that Satsuki had priority over him when it came to things like this, because, in all honesty; when was the last time he ever cared about his friends' lives, other than their basketball lives?

" _You are a good friend when it comes to basketball, but you do not see anything beyond basketball, do you? That is your greatest flaw. That is what makes you unbearable sometimes, Aomine-kun._ "

Tetsu once had said, he remembered how upset the comment had made him at the time but he had said nothing because even then he knew it was true. His world revolved around basketball so much that his dissatisfaction with basketball had ruined some of the best years of his youth. He had grown bitter and disagreeable in those years, simply because of his frustration with basketball and coming to terms with his own grand talent at the sport. But by now, he knew, there was more to life than basketball. Not that basketball was not great, it was, indeed great, and amazing, and wonderful... But there were other great, and amazing, and wonderful things. Just now, he thought, talking to Kise while drinking was not so bad for example, he had fun... Did he have as much fun as when he played basketball with Kise? He was not sure. But he had fun. And he liked doing things like this, in addition to playing basketball...

"Wow, aren't you grown Ahomine..." he whispered to himself, and to the winter wind,

"There is more to life than basketball and you finally not only understand that but actually also accept it. Welcome to the grown-ups' world, huh..."

 


	6. Chapter 6

Aomine had planned to visit somewhere warm during the two days he had off for New Year's but instead he was stuck with Kise, bar-hopping. Kise had not only refused the idea of moving somewhere warmer for the holiday but also refused the idea of letting Aomine spend it as he wished it: "we have to enter the new year together!" was like a mantra he constantly repeated for at least two weeks prior to the actual New Year's eve. Aomine supposed that Kise was a little homesick and did not wish to be alone and relented, even in a warmer city he would simply spend the night partying and hooking up so why not, he thought.

By the time they made their way into the third club of the night, about an hour after midnight already, Kise was on full attack mode and Aomine for the first time witnessed his friend flirting with men. It was an interesting sight for Aomine and frankly, also a little scary; " _so smooth_ " he thought,

" _Kise sure knows how to charm people... women or men, so easily._ "

He decided to not pay so much attention though, surely he was curious because he was still not used to it but paying so much attention would be very impolite and disrespectful to Kise. In any case, he found himself a nice brunette by 2 am and left the club after signalling Kise that he was leaving through some hand gestures. Kise himself was too busy dancing with a blond young man who seemed to be younger than them by a few years with a baby face and blue eyes that shone even in the dark of the night club. The rest of the night had been a flurry of joy and pleasure for both of them with their respective partners...

But the night had hidden the oncoming bout of pure displeasure and agony for Aomine. When he opened his eyes next morning, at about 11 am, according to clock on the wall facing him, his throat was sore, his nose was blocked, and he was naked, alone in a hotel bed. " _I am never doing it outside during winter. Ever. Again._ " he thought. He did congratulate himself on advance planning of the hotel room though, at least he had made it to the hotel. And he was lucky that the girl had left, he wouldn't know what to do about it if she was still around, with such a sick and hung over body and mind... It was nice that both parties had fully understood that this was a one night stand. Assuring himself that he had reserved the room for the whole day anyway, Aomine went back to sleep. He was woken up again and looking at his vibrating and crying out phone realised that it was already well into afternoon,

"What?"

"Aw Aominecchi, such a sour way to welcome the new year! And here I was calling you so that I could celebrate your new year and wish you the best of luck and great scores and--"

"Kise we were together when the new year started."

"Yes we were and you know what they say? ' _You spend the rest of the year, the way you entered it_ ' and since we entered the year together, we will spend it together; isn't that nice?"

"I am hanging up."

"Wait wait... God you are always such a grouch. What's up with your voice anyway? You sound terrible."

"I apparently caught a cold and also I have a huge hang over."

"What?! How come?!"

"Well... I fooled around outside in the cold last night. And the girl I left with, she insisted on going to another bar as well... Argh. Can I go now?"

"No you cannot. Are you okay? Where are you now?"

"Um, at a hotel."

"Well at least you made it to a hotel... Can she help you? You need to get some medication; you are an athlete for God's sake you cannot just leave it as it is."

"I am hanging up."

"Aominecchi!"

"What?"

"You are alone... right?

"Of course I am and I am glad that I am. Can I hang up now?"

Aomine pushed his face onto the pillow,

"Which hotel are you in?"

"Intercontinental... Barclay..."

"What? How did you find a room at such a hotel in the middle of the night?"

"I had reserved it in advance... for the New Year's."

"Why?"

"To spend the night with whoever I would hook up with of course... Can I hang up now?"

"Nice to know that you plan ahead but wish you planned this little part about being hung over and what not as well. And yes you can hang up if you can tell me your room number."

"Room 386."

"OK, I will be there in 15 minutes."

"Yeah. No. Don't come. I don't need you. I am hanging up now."

Aomine did hung up the phone but Kise was not lying, he found out, about 20 minutes later when he heard the knocks on his door. He decided that he would not open it and Kise would give up but when his phone started ringing as well, he remembered just how stubborn Kise could be and gave up. Wrapping the comforter like a cocoon around him, he walked or rather limped to the door of the suite, opened it and without even batting an eyelash to Kise, simply turned around and walked back to the bed, deciding that he wouldn't be able to make it, half way he just hurled himself to bed...

"You are a disaster."

"Mmm..."

"God, where are your clothes?"

"Don't know... somewhere."

Kise found various pieces of Aomine's clothing from the night before from various corners of the large suite, pulled away the comforter from a protesting Aomine, forcefully dressed him up, wrapped him with the blanket he had brought with himself and helped him up. He first took Aomine to the car, then went back in to drop the key card at the reception; Aomine had apparently already paid for the room in advance when he reserved it a week ago. "Such a diligent drunkard!" Kise complained to himself as he drove Aomine his home. It was a miracle that Aomine had not lost his keys somewhere during the hectic night and Aomine was more than happy to finally reach his own bed. Kise went out to buy some cold medication and when he came back he fed it to Aomine despite the whining. The whining continued ten minutes later when Kise again rather forcefully fed Aomine some chicken noodle soup.

"I would prefer rice gruel."

"Well you can get your one-night stand from last night to cook you a bowl when she is back."

"You look and act nice but you are evil Kise."

"Never the thankful one Aominecchi. Never the thankful one. I am an angel but you are just too blind and proud to see it."

"Yeah sure."

"You didn't have any rice at home and I rushed while buying the medication, only thing you had suitable for a sick person was these canned chicken noodle soups. Don't blame me."

"Whatever. How come you are not feeling hung over at all? You drank rather a lot too..."

"I can hold my liquor very well and no, I actually did not drink much either, I control the alcohol level in the stuff I drink carefully so that I don't end up in the situation you are now."

"Whatever."

Aomine was not sure why he was acting so spoilt, but he had told Kise not to come and meddle so decided that anything Kise would have to endure was his own fault for coming. Secretly, he knew that indeed he would be very thankful to Kise next day. If his condition got worse, his coach would kill him.

He spent rest of the day sleeping, with Kise coming in now and then to make him drink water or take his medication. When he opened his eyes in the morning (and he was lucky that he did because he actually had a training scheduled for the noon) he was feeling much better. He found Kise sleeping on the large sofa in the living room and felt a little guilty. He was divided between waking Kise up or not and decided not to – he was sure Kise was tired too. Instead he made himself some scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast and then left the house for training. He did leave a note on the refrigerator:

"I owe you one."

...

Well, he did not expect to be called on that offer as soon as three days later.

"You told me you owed me one!"

"Yes but not to waking up so early on a Saturday and when I will finally have a day off."

"You gave me your word Aominecchi! Does your word have no meaning? Are you not a man of your words?"

"Don't put it that way."

"Which way shall I put it? You told me you 'owe' me one and I am telling you that I need you to meet me this Saturday at 8 am. Sharp."

"At least tell me what it is for?"

"Um, let's say it is a surprise."

"It is something I won't like, isn't it?"

"Well it is something any person with a heart and a passion for basketball would like so if you end up not liking it, it is your fault Aominecchi and you should be sorry for yourself as a human being."

Aomine thought that he could see Kise pouting from the phone.

"Tch... fine. Whatever."

"Yay! So 8 am sharp this Saturday."

"Fine."

"See you then!"

Kise did not even wait Aomine to say anything before he hung up and Aomine was not sure why he was allowing himself to be dragged around by Kise like this. By Saturday morning though, at 8 am sharp he was already waiting at their designated meeting point for Kise. When Kise arrived with his car, they started driving to their destination but Kise was still adamant about not giving any hints. Finally, after about 20 minutes of driving, Kise stopped the car in front of an inner city school. When they got off the car, Kise was already walking towards the school and with a stern, lecturing tone, ordered Aomine,

"Aominecchi, I want you to promise me that regardless of what happens within the next few hours, you are going to show your best behaviour."

"Are you my mom or something?"

"Well, I could pretty well be your mom, after all it was me who looked after you when you were weak and ill and needed help... Nobody else but me."

"Fine, I won't complain but you are not uttering another word of that ever again. Deal?"

Kise chuckled at Aomine's slightly flushed cheeks,

"Deal."

Aomine soon understood why Kise had not said anything before and had made him promise to be on his best behaviour: apparently he had recently met a young female teacher, Aisha Carter, during a streetball game. She had set up a neighbourhood basketball club for the children attending the school she was teaching and others around the area. Though they were struggling with funding issues and being inner city the children were of racially very diverse and often underprivileged backgrounds, she was very enthusiastic and so were the children. After seeing Kise's moves she had invited him to play with them and he had visited a couple of times. The last time he visited, when one of the children mentioned how he idolised Aomine Daiki, the star athlete rumoured to be the best player in the world, despite generally avoiding doing so, Kise had informed them that he was friends with Aomine. Though they hadn't taken Kise seriously, he had sworn that he would bring around Aomine the next time. The problem was, the one that Kise was very well aware and the reason why he had not told the whole story to Aomine earlier, Aomine was really not well with children.

When he was younger, especially during early years of middle school, he was actually pretty good at handling children. However as he grew older, children often found him too grumpy and scary. Here again, at first, he stayed closed to Kise and did not talk much, but once they started playing basketball, he lost his anxiety. After some time, both Kise and Aisha stopped playing and started watching as Aomine played with children. He was not sure how long had passed but when Aisha blew the whistle and told them that it was time go home and gym had to be closed, Aomine whined almost as much as the children. They thanked Aisha for the opportunity and promised to come back, Aomine in his head also made plans about sending some tickets to Aisha and the kids for the upcoming All-Stars game that would be held in their own city.

Aomine was very happy as they walked back to the car and kept talking about the kids on the way home too; about how Liu was great at shooting and could improve a lot with better posturing, or how fast and agile Raul's movements were... Kise listened silently, smiling, and making small comments here and there. When they reached Aomine's place and he got out of the car, right before Kise was about to drive off, he knocked on the car window which prompted Kise to lower it down.

"What is it?"

"I owe you two now."

"Huh?"

"I am saying, in addition to before I owe you one more. So I owe you two now. Anything. But please, no more 8 am meet-ups on my off days. Well, if it is for the kids again, then maybe. But not for anything else. Okay?"

Kise smiled,

"You don't owe me anything."

"Huh?"

"You are free next Friday night right? Just play one-on-one with me. That's enough."

"You sure? We were supposed to play anyway..."

"I am sure Aominecchi. If we started 'owing' each other for everything we did for one another, I think I would go helplessly bankrupt so it is better for me this way."

Further amused at Aomine's confused face, Kise winked playfully and pulled the car's window back up. As Aomine watched the car drive away, he felt a small blush creep its way onto his cheeks but told himself that it must have been the weather... the cold wind.

Yes, yes; it was definitely the cold wind.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that there is a racial slur (against Japanese people) mentioned in this chapter. It is used only once and by a racist person. This person and the slur is called out immediately afterwards. I have thought of removing it many times while I worked on the chapter as I realise it can be triggering to some, however it actually acts as a trigger to a character in this chapter and hence removing it would mean removing that too, which was part of the plot development as well as to emphasise the theme of racism that has been part of this fic. As a person of colour I face slurs on a daily basis and these words that most find innocent can be very painful and triggering and so I wanted to share that pain and anger with you in this particular storyline. I could not find any other scenario or wording where the said character would be triggered. 
> 
> Again I am sorry in advance.

 

 

 

 

"I cannot believe you!"

"You don't have to shout into phone so early in the morning..."

Aomine's voice was sleepy as he had just been woken up a few minutes ago by this angry call from his manager,

"I think I have to shout because it seems you don't get it otherwise! What the hell do you think you were doing?"

"Um... having fun?"

"Having fun? You were french kissing a singer who is idolised by teenage girls and their parents for being very innocent and kind!"

"Why would kissing stain anyone's innocence or make them unkind? By the way, she is an adult and she was a willing participant."

"You just cannot go around, get dead drunk, and have a very publicised one night stand with an idol!"

"First, I was not drunk. I have a policy of not drinking any more than two glasses since New Year's. It's my New Year's resolution. Second, I did not necessarily publicise it, it was the paparazzi."

"Oh sorry, yeah it was the paparazzi, how would you know they would capture it as you made out with a teenage idol in one of the most popular clubs in New York!"

"Can you please stop calling her a 'teenage idol'? Just because she was a teenage star once does not mean she is stuck in that age forever. She is 21 for God's sake, not that younger than me. You make me sound like some old dude preying on young girls – I hate that type of guys."

"But that is the image that America has of you now!"

"Oh the same America that uses naked women as props in music videos or I don't know, winter tyres' ads?"

"Are we seriously having this conversation?"

"I don't get this. I don't even particularly like her. She was probably sick of this very thing you are talking about – this 'Disney princess' image thing and decided 'oh hey having a wild night with the brown Japanese star will surely make the news and show everybody the wild girl I am' and you know what? I am fine with that. Because frankly, I don't give a shit about this whole drama you, her, and the rest of this country are making out of things like this."

"I really don't know whether you are too smart or too stupid."

"Hahaha..."

"Don't laugh, I was not complimenting you. This will ruin your image, people are already suspicious of you. One of the biggest target demographics for us right now are children and teenagers and thus their parents, this kind of thing just screws the image we sell to them. Do you know how much this will trouble me?"

"I don't know and I don't care."

"Why can't you just get a steady girlfriend? It would rehabilitate your bad boy image and hey, you can have some arguments now and then for the drama bonus."

"You just accused me of staining innocence of a young woman and now you are proposing that I start dating a woman just so that I can improve my appearance?"

"Yes."

"Well at least you are shamelessly honest of your own wickedness. But no, thanks, no."

"It would be nice for you too! When was the last time you had a nice dinner with a special someone at a fancy restaurant? You are completely absent from the media apart from this kind of shenanigans now and then and that kills your image. If people could see you going to a nice restaurant with a date or something... it would help."

"I do go to fancy restaurants. Well, sometimes fancy ones, sometimes shabby ones. But I do go out and have regular fun you know, nothing wild. I am not really much of a 'bad boy'."

"Yes, with that Japanese model friend of yours. Those don't count. And I know you are not like that, but that's how media and the rest of the country sees you."

"Wait, why doesn't it count when it's with Kise? It's not like food or the ambience or the fun evaporates when it's with a friend. And do you – after working with me for all these years, honestly believe that I actually care about how media or the public sees me?"

"It does not count because that is just being friends. If publicised, only thing that will make people think is that you are gay. And you should care about how media or the public sees you."

"Oh, but people thinking I am gay would surely make a lot of buzz huh? 'The drama' you were looking for?"

Aomine chuckled but his manager was furious,

"Don't even joke about it! Do you know how much of a shitstorm it would cause for me? Why can't you just do as I say?! You know we have a sensitive negotiation going on with a very important brand for you to be their brand representative. Please, please pay attention to your image at least until the contract is signed."

"Yeah. Whatever."

"You said 'yeah', I am going to hold you accountable on that."

"Okay."

"Good. Now, take care."

"Yeah, you too."

While his manager seemed very distressed, nothing could really ruin Aomine's moods these days. Everything was going perfect: his games were not just perfect victories but very entertaining as well for him and the spectators, Kise had improved tremendously over the last few months so one-on-ones they were playing every week was an exciting event by itself, and they had recently discovered an amazing yet cheap nabe place which was golden during these cold winter days. He was content. Few days were left to All-Stars weekend and he had topped the charts as the most-voted player again. Everyone, even those only remotely interested in basketball were talking about him these days and that was why his manager had been especially pissed at his little stunt at the club last night. He could not help it; he was a healthy young man and it was natural that he had to relieve his urges now and then. Even Kise, who normally almost never spoke of sex was casually having a date with a different person almost every week. So he honestly did not understand why his manager was so belligerent about this nor why was she so adamant about him getting a steady girlfriend. His life was already perfect as it was.

Or so he thought. His perfect life started to crumble so easily with just a phone call that very same night...

"So yeah, wanna meet up 'morrow? I'll give you the All-Stars Weekend tickets."

"Ah Aominecchi, actually, you don't have to."

"Huh? You already bought them?"

"Kind of... I guess now is as good as any to tell you; you see I will be coming with my boyfriend. He got some tickets for us already apparently."

"What? I did not know you had a boyfriend..."

"It is pretty recent... You know how I was casually dating? Well, one of them last month turned out to be very interesting so we met again, and again... He is a pilot and has been out of town for the last one and a half weeks but we have been texting and talking on the phone like some lovestruck teenagers to be honest. I am hopeful with this one. He knows how much I love basketball and he himself is very fond of it, he apparently played during high school."

Aomine was very surprised, not only because Kise had found a boyfriend but also that he was actually talking about it with him; he had always been rather reserved to talk about his love life with Aomine.

"I see..."

"Yeah and he got some tickets for the All-Stars Game as a surprise, he is returning the All-Stars Weekend, so."

"Oh, so then you'll come to the events prior yourself? I can give you tickets for that."

"No actually, we'll watch the other events at home. I'll only come to the game."

"I see..."

"I am so sorry Aominecchi!"

"Idiot, why the heck are you apologising? As if I care whether you come or not, it does not matter for me you know. Plus, it must be fun to spend time with your lover. So yeah, congratulations I guess?"

"Oh, always so supportive, Aominecchi! You are the best! Thanks!"

"Yeah, whatever."

Aomine was not really sure about what else they talked about despite the call lasting for at least another five minutes or so; his mind was still stuck at the fact that Kise had found a boyfriend. He was not sure what this meant for him yet but he felt that this would somehow disrupt his precious routine. Still, he promised himself that he would not be a jerk and act as a supportive friend; Kise and him did not have anybody else in this foreign country but each other, they would have to watch out for each other's back, if not them, who else would?

He soon learnt that promising yourself something did not mean it would be achieved so easily. While he was happy to see Aisha and the kids among the spectators at the VIP location he had got them tickets for, not seeing Kise around bumped him a bit. He had grown used to Kise watching him on the sidelines with obvious awe, just like when they were young... " _Perhaps I am too full of myself_ " he thought, but how he could not? He took both the "Slam Dunk Contest" and "Shooting Stars Competition" victories home the Saturday night. His performance at the Slam Dunk Contest was so spectacular, media was buzzing about it. Sunday did not go any different either; he was in perfect condition in terms of basketball and for some reason this year, he felt the need to out-do himself more than ever. He purposefully ignored the urge to look around all night though... Was he avoiding Kise? He threw away the thought from his mind; " _ridiculous_ " he thought, " _not like I'll catch a glimpse of him among all the people here anyway._ "

He did caught a glimpse of him though, right at the end of the game, after his dazzling play that brought a victory that was too astounding even for an All-Stars game; he looked towards the location Aisha and the kids were, as he was sure that they were ecstatic with joy right now, but instead he saw Kise hugging Aisha in a greeting manner with a man right near him. The man, probably in his late 30's, had salt and pepper hair and a well-defined, handsome face. He was slightly shorter than Kise and his build was similar; not skinny, not too muscular, well toned. He was so focused for a split second, he couldn't even register the kids who had now realised his gaze and had all started jumping up and down and screaming "Dai-chan!" (the nickname Kise had taught them to call Aomine as, instead of "Aominecchi" which they had initially tried to copy from Kise). Kise and the rest had registered the kids' frenzy, of course, and thus after a week of absence his eyes met Kise's and then those of the man near him. He was not sure why but without any gesture, neither a frown nor a smile, as though he was a stranger, he simply turned his face away and walked the other way. Though he did not look back, he was sure Kise was pouting and probably complaining to those near him, something like " _Geez! You saw him right? Such a meanie, Aominecchi!_ " he would say...

He couldn't shake off his frustration the whole night despite everyone calling him to celebrate on his victory and his manager begging him to agree for an interview with a famous sports journalist. The reason of his frustration was his frustration itself: he had promised himself that he would be supportive of Kise so why the heck was he so frustrated right now. Was this the kind of possessiveness some friends were said to bear? But he had never been a possessive person and he knew Kise did not like possessive people so the whole thing made him feel very awkward and angry with himself. He told himself that this would pass and that tomorrow these negative feelings would be gone.

The only problem was that, they were not. Instead the text he received from Kise around the afternoon next day only exacerbated his frustrations: Kise's boyfriend would be going away again near the end of the week so instead of coming to the venue to watch the only home game the team had that week, Kise would watch it at home with his boyfriend. Kise had noted though that he would attend at least one of the home games next week. This did not satisfy Aomine for some reason.

The game went on perfect except for Aomine's state of mind; he tried to let all his stress and frustrations out of his body by utilising his full strength and this not only annihilated the rival team but also created a social media buzz even before the game was over.

" _I thought Aomine Daiki was perfect during the All-Stars but tonight, he is just declaring he is the God!_ " one fan tweeted right around the beginning of the second quarter only... By the time the game was over, the whole nation's eyes were all on him. Not meeting Kise after the game, a little distraught and too lost in his thoughts, Aomine made the mistake of being caught by the journalists after the game. As he tried to make his way, a thousand questions were being thrown at him:

" _Aomine, people are saying that you have proven your title of being the 'Japanese Miracle' in last two weeks more than ever, what do you think_?"

" _#AomineDaikiIsGod has become the top hashtag in the country even before the game ended, Aomine, any thoughts?_ "

" _What do you say about the rumours that you are not fully Japanese and actually half American? The rumours that your father was an American soldier stationed in Japan has flared up a lot since last week. Will you not comment on this? You have never commented when this was first brought up two years ago!_ "

" _You are one of the shortest power forwards but you have surpassed many American players in your position who are much taller than you; what would you say is your special talent that goes beyond others?_ "

...

He shut his mouth as firmly as he could and focused his eyes on the ground as he struggled to move forward; if he could close his eyes and when he opened they would be all gone... It would be amaz--

" _Cocky Jap... doesn't even bother to look at us..._ "

Aomine suddenly stopped, lifted his head up; his eyes were full of fury and when he shouted his voice was so cold and loud that everyone froze:

"Who said that?"

The noise of just a minute ago had died down and only rings of camera flashes were heard,

"I asked who the fuck just said that slur?"

"Nothing? No one?"

"You're not going to answer me? I am sure all of you heard it, if I was able to hear it despite trying my best to block out all your bullshit. I don't comment on anything huh? Yes, I don't comment, because it is bullshit. And it never ends. You people somehow manage to vomit more and more of it every single day. ' _The Japanese Miracle_ '? I am not the Japanese Miracle, I am  _the_  Miracle. There is not a single player in the world who is better than me right now. And I am Japanese, only and solely Japanese, and I rule your courts not because I am Japanese but because I am Aomine Daiki. I rule all the courts. Calling me names or making up rumours that I am half American will not change this fact: the best basketball player in the world right now is not an American but a Japanese man that you find to be rather short for his position but he is just so goddamn talented that there is nothing you can do to stop him. I have no rivals. The only one who can beat me, is me. Go screw yourselves."

Aomine stomped away so fast, by the time the journalists and media personnel recovered from the shock and started chasing him, it was already too late; he made it to the car waiting for him a few seconds before they could reach him.

The moment he was in the safety of the car, he knew he had made a mistake. " _She will kill me_ " he thought, about his manager, and he knew his coach would be mad as well. But he had enough of it. He turned his phone off, not wanting to face anything or anyone for a bit. He just wanted to sleep.

And he did. When he woke up the next morning, around 10 am, and reluctantly turned his phone back on, he realised that among the numerous calls from various people in the team, media, and obviously his manager, Kise had also called twice. He decided that talking to Kise first would be better than talking to his manager first, for his nerves that is. He was mistaken.

"Oi..."

"Aominecchi!"

Aomine was about to say "what's up" though he knew what was up and what the topic of conversation would be, but he swallowed his words as he heard in the background from the other side of the call: "Ryouta, the breakfast is ready, are you coming?"

"I'll come in a minute John, I am on the phone" Kise said and Aomine felt a lump in his stomach.

"So he stayed the night?"

"Ah um ye-yeah, since we watched the game together at home... Yeah... Well whatever, what the hell was it last night? The media kept talking about it and looped the clip of you ranting all night!"

"Nothing important."

"Nothing important? Aominecchi, I know that you are not actually a hot headed person even though it seems like you are. You just go with the flow most of the time and do not pay much attention to others, or anything other than basketball really. You yourself was saying that even though they and their comments were like pests, the best treatment was silence. What made you lose it?"

Aomine wanted to shout "you". Because really, to be honest, it was Kise. His perfect life, his flawless routine, his balanced private and professional lives were shattered within the matter of a few weeks all because of Kise. Why was he not there during the last game? Why did he prefer to stay home with an old geezer than to watch the glory that was Aomine Daiki? Why did he not call Aomine to congratulate or to inquiry about all the unbelievable stunts he had performed during the All-Stars? Why was he not paying attention to Aomine? And most importantly, why was all this making Aomine so frustrated, angry, and dare he say it, perhaps, jealous? He sighed.

"Aominecchi?"

"I am fine. Nothing is wrong."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"I see... I am not Kurokocchi or Momocchi, I know, but if you need somebody to talk to I am here. I would like to think that we are close friends."

"I know."

"You don't want to talk?"

"Kise, really, there is nothing to talk. I am still trying to calm down my manager so..."

"Oh I see! Sorry that I am keeping you busy. See you then. I will come see the second game next week?"

"Sure, see you then."

After hanging up Aomine dialled his manager right away, he was already feeling like crap " _so why not just face it all in one go_ ", he thought.

Rest of the week went rather uneventful, per his manager's wish, he posted a video online in which he apologised to his fans for acting rudely. He also mentioned that he was called a racial slur and he was dissatisfied with the racialised manner in which media approached him. His manager had advised him not to include those but he was insistent; he believed that it was important to speak the truth and apologising for the right things he said would be untrue to his character. He would only apologise for his tone, not the content. His manager could not persuade him otherwise.

When he met Kise finally after the second game of the week, for the first time he truly felt that he had missed Kise. It was a strange feeling and fazed him a little. When they went drinking at the small pub that was a favourite for both of them, Kise at first tried to make him talk but when unsuccessful started talking about his new relationship. Aomine felt a sting but decided not to focus on it. He listened half-heartedly to Kise and finally commented,

"It sure is nice and fun to be in love I guess."

"Don't embarrass me Aominecchi, 'love' is a strong word you know but yeah... I guess I am falling for him. I am sure you experienced it too, right? That bubbly phase of initial attraction and realisation of love?"

"Not really..."

"Huh? You gotta be kidding me!"

"Not really, I never fell in love per se."

"You did have crushes though right?"

"Well... maybe. Horikita Mai?"

"I should have never given that photobook... I am talking about real people, those you met."

"She counts then."

"Argh no even then she does not; I mean somebody who is not an idol."

"Hmmm... none then."

"I cannot believe you! You must have! At least when you were a teenager. You honestly did not like anybody even in middle school or high school? I mean I don't know your high school but during middle school there were some very cute girls in your class."

"No, I did not..."

Aomine felt the need to change the subject from him; he never liked talking about his feelings in the first place and being interrogated like this by Kise was getting very awkward. He had never been a very committed person and honestly, during middle school and high school all he cared about had been basketball. And idols.

"What about you? Since you are finding it hard to believe I never had a crush, you must have had quite a few? John is not your first love, right?"

Kise blushed slightly and sipped a bit from his drink then started giggling childishly,

"I had quite a few."

"Anybody I know?"

Kise paused for a second then burst into laughter, then,

"Weeeell... You, for instance?"

"Huh? Me? What?"

Aomine felt like a bucket of cold water had been thrown on his face. Kise just giggled at his bewildered expression.

"I was a young boy trying to sort out his sexuality and you were this... bright star of basketball. It was natural and pretty childish. Don't you think so?"

Aomine, for some reason he couldn't fathom at that moment, felt his heartbeat fasten yet the expression on Kise's face was neutral; it was the face of someone who was talking about a childish blunder that did not mean anything any more but somehow Aomine felt as though a bomb had been dropped. Maybe not for Kise, but it was a bomb for him for sure. He quickly shook off the initial shock and raised an eyebrow with a mocking face,

"You are kidding me right?"

"No I am not."

"Geez Kise... I never thought. Really. Why did you never tell me?"

"Oh yeah because that would be the easiest thing to do for me as a teenager. Be real for a second. I mean, sure, I am an honest, strong, and wilful person but meeting you had already blown away a hole in my self-confidence and I was struggling with what it all meant with respect to my sexuality..."

"I see."

"Hmm you are taking it pretty well, I thought you would be scared?"

"Scared?"

"I don't know that I, being me, would charm the pants off you or something?"

Kise giggled and Aomine snickered though inside he was shaking a little,

"You wish. You would first need a nice pair of breasts. Very nice ones."

Kise laughed sincerely,

"You know, for some reason being so shamelessly superficial doesn't look or sound bad when it is you."

"Because I am at least honest. Most men do think it but don't say it, I just say it."

"Yeah, you know, I don't think Momocchi would be satisfied with that reasoning."

The rest of the night was spent on idle talk and the only other highlight of the night had been Kise's invitation for Aomine to come his home to watch some basketball videos together later that week. Seirin's coach, Aida Riko, who was still a coach and a PE teacher now had filmed this year's Winter Cup semi-finals and finals and sent them to Kise. Kise thought it would be fun to watch them and Aomine, though acted reluctant when Kise offered, agreed wholeheartedly inside. He was going to go to Kise's place during the weekend for that.

Still, he was so focused on the news that Kise had, in fact, loved him once, albeit as a childish crush, he couldn't remember much of the other things they talked about. After they said their byes and he took a cab, he asked the cab to drop him off way early and at least a dozen blocks away from his home as he decided to walk the rest of the way in this cold night of March, just so that he could collect his thoughts. He was feeling a numbness as well as an excitement everywhere in his body and he was not sure why. Was he feeling something that was perhaps more than simple friendship towards Kise? Was it because he was just told that he was Kise's crush once?

By the time he reached his home, he had decided that yes, though he could not give it a name yet, this feeling towards Kise was surely more than that of brotherly friendship. " _Perhaps that thing called platonic love?_ " he thought. He made a mental note of looking into that more on Wikipedia. He had also decided that no, he was not feeling like this because Kise had informed him of the old crush. Kise who he had this feeling for was the  _current_  Kise he knew  _now_  and all the unsavoury thoughts and emotions he went through in the recent weeks, before learning Kise's past crush on him, were enough proof for that. The news, though, had surely affected him and triggered a realisation of these feelings he was having, yet had preferred to ignore for some time now.

He shook his head to clear his mind a bit as he struggled to find his keys in front of his door, that's when his phone started vibrating. He took it out from his pocket to see it was Kise calling, " _hmm did he forgot to say good night or something?_ " -- Kise was diligent about that sort of courtesy,

"Ah Aominecchi! Sorry, I know we just parted but yeah, I forgot to tell you something so"

Aomine smiled, " _I knew it... no wonder all the girls thought he was 'princely' during middle school_ " he thought,

"What's up?"

"Ah, I actually told John that you are my friend from way back and since he likes basketball too... He will be returning next week and we'll go see a game together, I was just wondering, if we could, all three of us, meet up after the game? Have a drink or eat together perhaps?"

The smile on Aomine's face was almost slapped away and though he could not see himself now he was sure that a huge frown had appeared on his face, his voice though hinted nothing of his real state, in a relaxed tone he said,

"Idiot Kise, you didn't have to call right away, you could just text me... Sure why not."

"It is asking for a favour so it is normal that I call you! A text would be too rude! Anyway, thanks a lot, it means a lot to me. See you later then, good night."

Aomine managed to get a "Good night" out of his mouth as well. He closed his eyes and laid his forehead against the cold wood of the door of his apartment,

"' _Bubbly phase of initial attraction and realisation_ ' my ass... you bastard Kise, there is nothing ' _bubbly_ ' about this."

 


	8. Chapter 8

He had been lonely and homesick and had gotten attached to the only thing that signified all that he was lacking at the moment; something familiar, something of home, something sincere, something he could put his confidence and trust in fully... And that something was Kise. This was the resolution Aomine came up with. He had developed platonic feelings for Kise but it was all due to his circumstances. " _I cannot make this an obstacle for me or him_ ", he thought. He firmly lectured himself that it was time to be a proper grown-up and handle this matter maturely.

Though he could not help feeling rather excited as he drove to Kise's house, he repeated inside, like a charm, " _I am a mature adult, I can handle this._ " He could handle these feelings. He could ensure they didn't ruin their friendship. He could get over them. He could.

After a few knocks, Kise opened the door and Aomine saw Kise with bed hair perhaps for the first time in years. It had also been years, seeing him wear just a plain old white t-shirt and grey sweatpants; in the last few months he had become used to seeing Kise in fancy or well-coordinated outfits outside the court so he thought that this was a little interesting of a sight.

"You were sleeping?"

Kise yawned a bit,

"You caught me... I was taking a nap. I tidied the house a bit since you were coming and it drained all my energy, you won't believe it."

Aomine took off his shoes and wore the slippers Kise had given him before he entered the large loft,

"You are able to play one-on-one with me for hours but housework drains all your energy?"

"You have no idea Aominecchi, it is not the same; I am sure you never clean up yourself that's why you don't know."

"Well I have a housekeeper who comes twice a week, you could hire somebody too..."

Aomine threw himself onto the large couch that was facing the plasma TV situated almost in the centre of the loft,

"I don't like strangers touching my things. You wouldn't believe but I am very territorial."

"Oh I'd believe that, I play basketball with you."

Kise soon came with a tray of cups of oolong tea and snacks, leaving the tray on the table in front of the couch, he sat right near Aomine and took the remote from his hand – Aomine had been randomly surfing the channels,

"I already transferred the videos, ready to watch?"

"Yeah but just how the hell did you get limited edition rum and raisin Kit Kat's? And sakura maccha latte ones?"

Aomine asked as he scrutinised the snacks Kise had brought,

"Wow you sure know your Kit Kat's Aominecchi?"

"My current favourite bikini model, Amakata Miho is a Kit Kat enthusiast. She talks a lot about her favourite flavours in interviews and stuff. Wait, Cream Stew Cheetos? Tokyo Banana Cream Cake? These are all Japanese snacks. Recent stuff too. How the hell did you get them?"

Kise chuckled as Aomine started to stuff his mouth with anything and everything,

"I didn't know you liked snacks that much... You see, when I first moved Murasakicchi made me promise to send him some of the snacks that are found only here and when I sent him some, the next week I received a care package from him full of Japanese snacks. Since then whenever I send him some snacks, and I can't help but sending him now and then because you won't believe how happy it makes him, he just sends back a ton of Japanese snacks. I can't really eat much as my diet is strictly regulated so I have like a mountain of these."

Aomine swallowed a mouthful of snacks,

"I can't believe it, you should have told me. I missed eating some authentic Japanese snacks."

"Wow I never thought I would see the day you pounding on snacks like this. Murasakicchi would love to see you like this I guess. You could be buddies."

"Yeah sure, me and Murasakibara. Perfect duo. Come on turn on the video."

"Okay, let's start with the first semi-final."

As they started watching, a youthful excitement and joy crept into them; they were not well informed in either of the teams and neither of the teams were their alma mater, yet they jumped at the near-misses or the particularly artistic shots. Now and then, Aomine would make the comment " _Ah these are just brats, nothing like how we were. We were great._ " and Kise would tease him, " _Says the man who was the brattiest brat out of all of us._ "

At each teasing Aomine would either ruffle Kise's hair or throw a shoulder at him jokingly, which would make Kise act out dramatical mock sufferings " _oooowie, I can't believe you would attack me like this just because I spoke the truth and only the truth. Aominecchi is a bully_."

Aomine thought that this was nice. He thought that he could get used to it, that he could spend his days like this and realising these thoughts scared him a little; " _no need to think about that_ " he thought, " _just enjoy this moment_ ". Soon he blocked all the unnecessary thoughts in his mind.

The semi-finals ended with the victory of the teams Aomine had guessed would win; he had guessed both correctly only a little into the first quarters of the respective games too. Kise pouted as he got ready to start streaming the final game,

"You are like a basketball god. Like what, you oversee others' basketball and can see their basketball fate or something? Did you steal Akashicci's eyes?"

Aomine chuckled wholeheartedly,

"Idiot, anybody with a talent for basketball and experience can see it. I am sure you could too, but you just love to root for the underdogs."

"So what if I do? What is wrong with it? I have always been the underdog, it is normal that I can connect with them at a different level."

"God Kise, if you are the 'underdog' rest of the world should just die out of misery."

Kise's finger on the play button paused for a second, he turned to Aomine with a very confused face,

"Why do you say that?"

Aomine had not realised the serious expression on Kise's face, his head resting on the backside of the couch, his eyes fixated on the ceiling waiting for Kise to start streaming the final,

"I mean you are a model. You are blessed with great looks, an amazing copying ability that allows you to pretty much do anything – from dancing like an expert dancer and to playing basketball like a pro, you earn good money, and you have a kind heart. Sure you started basketball later than us, and worked very very hard, maybe harder than others during that time, but you also grew faster than all of us. Though you may have felt like an underdog, you never were. You were the one with the greatest potential. Even now, okay, you have not won against me maybe, but really, nobody is able to win against me right now. I am not saying this out of arrogance but it is a fact. In any case, despite how you might have felt during middle school, you really are not an underdog; you are an alpha."

Kise felt blood flow to his cheeks and knew that he was getting embarrassed; Aomine was not saying these things playfully or mockingly, he was sincere and serious and for some reason Aomine being so sincere and serious had always made him shy, now him acting as such while complimenting Kise was just too much. Aomine, though oblivious to Kise's face, was puzzled at the silence so lifted his head up and adjusted his position to properly see the TV,

"Oi, why are you not starting the video?"

He turned to Kise, who was for some reason facing the wall to his right and hurriedly responded,

"I am starting it now, shut up."

"What happened?"

"Nothing, see it is starting, look at the TV, not me."

Aomine rolled his eyes,

"You are such a freak sometimes Kise."

"Says the man who can enter the _oh-so-mystical_ 'zone'."

"Argh be quiet."

"You be quiet. Ahominecchi."

Upon this word, both of them laughed earnestly and Aomine threw his arm around Kise, both had their eyes glued to the TV. Neither had truly realised the physical proximity of their bodies or how they would look from an outsider's point of view. In the middle of the second quarter though the door started knocking.

"You were expecting somebody?"

"Nope. Perhaps it is a neighbour; maybe we shouted too much?"

"Not really, we did make some noise during the second semi-final match we watched but..."

The door continued knocking so Kise got up while Aomine paused the video and looked towards the door curiously,

"Must be a door to door salesman or something" Kise said before opening the door, Aomine laid his head onto the back of the couch again, "Yeah 'cause door to door salesmen work like at freakin' 10 pm at night."

"John!" was the sole word that Kise exclaimed upon opening the door and it was enough to sour Aomine's face and stomach. He did fix his face quite rapidly though. The man called John, Kise's new boyfriend, entered the loft with a drenched raincoat and wet shoes and right away Aomine was pissed – why the hell had he not took off his shoes? " _So improper_ " he thought, which was weird because truthfully he did not care about such things at all before but he had started to recently, especially after starting to hang out with Kise who was always so meticulous about details of etiquette like this.

"Ah, am I interrupting?"

"No, of course not. We were just watching some matches with Aominecchi..."

"Hello" said the man, called John, Kise's new boyfriend and Aomine cursed his mind for always reminding these two pieces of detail that he would prefer to be unaware of,

"Hello." he said and then turned his face towards the TV, acting as aloof as humanly possible in somebody else's home towards that particular somebody else's boyfriend.

"Let me get you some towels, you are drenched" Kise said after closing the door and chuckling a bit at how John looked. Before he left though, he carefully took off John's raincoat so that it would not drip too much and took it to bathroom. The man, on the other hand, finally removed his shoes, to Aomine's silent "tch" which nobody other than Aomine could hear.

He later awkwardly moved towards the armchair that was perpendicularly situated near the left side of the couch, which meant he moved in front of Aomine and in front of TV, which earned him another "tch" from Aomine, this time loud enough for both to hear.

"Ah sorry" he said as he sat down but Aomine simply nodded. For some reason Kise was taking too long to come back and Aomine was irritated. John looked at the TV and proclaimed, "oh it's basketball... Japanese basketball?" he turned to Aomine,

"Japanese high school basketball."

"Oh yeah both you and Ryouta were playing basketball during high school right? Well... you still play obviously."

"Yes."

"Um... oh you know what, I used to play basketball during high school as well."

"I know."

"Oh is that so? Ryouta must have told you."

"Considering he is the only person we both know, obviously, yes."

"I guess you guys were having a Japanese basketball night and I kind of ruined it huh?" John said, looking at the tray that was now full of half eaten Japanese snacks and two empty cups that stank of oolong tea. Aomine did not respond which only made the situation even more awkward but right at that moment Kise came to the rescue,

"I am sorry, I had a hard time finding dry ones, I took a bath earlier today and used way too many apparently... here, take these" he offered some towels to John,

"Ah thank you Ryouta."

" _'Ryouta', again_?" Aomine thought. At first he had not cared why and how Kise was so lenient about people calling him by his first name, but now he was specifically pissed at it because it situated the two men in the room in very well-defined categories: the boyfriend who called him by his first name and the middle school buddy who called him by his last name. He rolled his eyes as he repeated the way John had pronounced the name, "' _Rheyuutah_ '? He can't even pronounce it right! What the hell..." he said to himself, in his mind of course, he would not act rudely such that it would put Kise in a bad light. He was not a brat. He refused to be a brat. For some reason, he did feel like a brat at that moment though.

A silence followed.

"Did I disturb you guys? I am sorry. Since my schedule was changed so suddenly and it was a weekend night, I thought I would surprise you. I should have called... It was really improper."

Kise was sitting near Aomine but his whole body and face was turned towards John, smiling sincerely, he said,

"No worries... we were just watching some games from a recently held Japanese high school tournament. We ourselves had participated many times when we were in high school so it was kind of like a nostalgia session."

"I see."

"This is nice actually! I was going to introduce you to Aominecchi later next week anyway. This way you to got to know each other much earlier!"

Aomine whispered an ironic " _Yay!_ " to himself in his mind, but his eyes continued to be stuck on the still paused video on TV. Unknown to Aomine, not saying anything was as rude as saying something rude in this kind of a situation and getting the hint from Aomine's passive aggressive bout, John mumbled,

"Ah yeah, I am glad to have met him. But I guess it is better if I leave you two to watch the games right?"

Kise pouted like a child,

"Are you kidding me? You are finally back and you are just gonna disappear on me like that? That is so mean. Come on. You can watch with us too, it is fun. Hey, want to try these rum and raisin Kit Kat's? Murasakicchi sent them from Japan, they arrived just yesterday."

"Oh, your snack-addict friend from Teikou right?"

" _He even knows Murasakibara and Teikou?!_ " Aomine yelled, in his mind of course, and this was the knock-out punch he received, he stood up with a sigh,

"Guys, let's be honest, I am the third wheel here. But it's okay." he snickered and continued,

"Oi, Kise, just send me the final video, all right? Put it as a private video on Youtube or something, I'll watch later myself."

"Aominecchi, you don't have to leave."

"Come on, your boyfriend is finally home after a week, you should spend some time with him, not watching Japanese teenagers playing basketball as though the whole goddamn planet was at stake, with your cranky old buddy."

Aomine chuckled as he said the last words and continued, gazing towards John,

"And nice to meet you... John? Have fun. Cheers."

He then turned and moved towards the hanger where he had put his coat early on. "Aominecchi, you don't have to run as though the house is on fire or something..."

"Oh but I am afraid it might be soon, what with you not seeing your lover for a whole week and all... You must be  _frustrated_." he said, teasingly, as he put on his coat, his back turned to Kise,

Kise's face flushed a little,

"Pervert."

"Yeah, yeah, I am a pervert. See you later!" Aomine said, holding his hand up for a second to signal that he was off and opened the door.

He sighed after he closed the door behind him then took the stairs down; for some reason, walking down the stairs like this at a slow pace made him feel worse about the whole situation, which he thought, inversely, was good for him – good that he was being hurt, this should teach him his own stupidity. He had no right to act as a jealous jerk of a friend anyway. Only when he stepped outside the building he realised that it was raining, obviously. It was not like John had gotten drenched because he fell into the sea or something. Why had he not thought of this? His car was parked about two blocks away – not too far, but not too close either. He sighed deeply. " _What a terrible day_ " he thought and quickly stepped into the dark and wet street as rain pounded, midway on the street, he heard the high pitched screaming behind him,

"Hey! Aominecchi! Aominecchi!"

He turned to see Kise, in the same t-shirt and sweatpants he was wearing a few minutes ago when they were together, but now his clothes already quite wet, his damp hair sticking to his face running with an umbrella in his hand.

"You told me you had parked your car a bit far this time right? It is raining so strongly, take this umbrella." he said in a single breath and he was breathing very fast. He must have realised it a little late and stomped out of the house without thinking, rushed down the stairs too probably,

"I thought you had already gone, and I knew you wouldn't care that it was raining, never taking care of yourself... never." he continued, his breathing had turned to normal now though his face was slightly red because of the sudden sprint and his clothes were getting wetter and wetter by each passing second.

Aomine looked at the umbrella in Kise's hand and then Kise's face, and then started laughing uncontrollably,

"Hey? Why are you laughing? I am doing a favour to you here so that you don't get sick again and you are mocking me?" Kise was pouting when Aomine took the umbrella from his hand and opened it, then hovered it above both their heads,

"You are an idiot Kise. I was already wet and you got out like this, look at you! You are almost drenched too now. And you were running with an umbrella in your hand too, why didn't you simply open it and use it while running so that you would not get wet yourself?"

Kise blushed at his own stupidity but continued pouting,

"I was rushing because I thought you must have already walked quite a bit okay? I didn't know you were still on our street. And here I am trying to be nice to you and rushing to your rescue and you are just mocking me..."

Aomine smiled genuinely,

"Thanks."

Kise, for a second did not know what to say and felt the timidity he always felt in those rare moments when Aomine would be so sincere and serious. It was happening the second time today. This was too extraordinary in a sense.

"No problem."

"Come on, I'll take you back to the building under the umbrella."

"It is just a couple of steps away. I'll run."

"No way, you are already too wet. I ain't looking after you if you are sick."

After he said the words, Aomine felt his stomach clench; why would Kise need him for care in case of sickness anyway? He had a boyfriend who would care for him. He waited this fact to be slapped to his face by Kise, albeit innocently and ignorantly, without knowing just how much it would bother and hurt Aomine. But instead, as they walked back to the building of Kise's apartment, Kise giggled and said,

"You are such a tsundere Aominecchi, you are saying this now but I am sure you would rush to my rescue if I was indeed sick."

Aomine snickered,

" _Yeah, I am sure_ " though his tone was dripping with sarcasm, he knew what Kise said was the truth and it felt nice hearing that instead of his own bad premonition from Kise's lips,

"See, you are doing it again. You are as much a tsundere as Midorimacchi is."

"Hell no."

They both laughed and Kise said, playfully,

"But I know you are!" they reached the entrance of the building and Kise entered,

"You are so annoying..." Aomine said and Kise simply turned and winked,

"You are such a brat..." Aomine said in a relatively silent tone and Kise, who was now walking towards the stairs in the building, giggled, and yelled back without looking,

"Yeah, I know!"

 


	9. Chapter 9

Whenever John was in town, Kise would come to see at least one game with him.

The first time had been right after the unexpected initial meeting at Kise's house; just like they had planned before the coincidence, Kise wanted the three to hang out together. Although Aomine was not enthusiastic and tried his best to shake Kise off, he ended up agreeing to it. It was an awful night for Aomine as he tried to keep his cool and aloof exterior without seeming too distant now as Kise had given him a pep talk about how he had to be friendlier with people, and he truly could not stand the cheesy couple, especially Kise. At one point during their chitchatting, John had asked how they came to play basketball. Aomine mentioned how he started playing by himself as a child and that his initiation had been through streetball. Kise enthusiastically cut off, first talking about how amazing Aomine's flexible streetball was and that organic growth at a young age being one of Aomine's greatest strengths in terms of basketball. He then continued about how he himself had started playing during the second year of middle school after a coincidental meeting with Aomine; his eyes sparkled as he talked about that first meeting, how captivated he had been with Aomine's basketball, meeting rest of the gang just how much he had wanted to reach their level and play with them, play with Aomine... Aomine felt John's curious gaze on his face as Kise went on and on about his youthful admiration but Aomine realised that this did not make him happy, even if it had intrigued or perhaps even caused some envy in John. Aomine had always been fond of Kise's admiration, even though it was irritating at times and he mocked it mostly, he had taken pride in being the idol. Being the one that invokes such adoration in others both to himself and to basketball felt nice, it flourished his self-esteem and pride. The only time he had been truly dissatisfied with it had been the realisation that if Kise held on too much to that adoration and admiration, he could never truly compete against Aomine. But they had passed it too, Kise had learnt to balance his admiration with his rivalry and even use his admiration as a weapon, as a motivation to beat Aomine... The reason Aomine felt so displeased with the blatant admiration Kise was showering him with now was the fact that it exposed his position in Kise's world rather well: Aomine was an idol. A star to gaze upon and attempt to reach for. A brilliant goal. That is all. Not a true, fleshed out person who one would want to hang on to, not the kind of adoration one feels towards a special someone they are intimately fond of. Aomine could not help but think how flimsy this admiration was in itself... It would disappear like a sudden gust of wind does during summer, if Aomine was to, God forbid, lose his talent, break his leg or something. For the first time, instead of prospering his self-esteem, Kise's admiration gave a painful blow to it.

...

Considering how whenever Kise took John with him to watch a game, he also expected three of them to hang out later on, Aomine simply started avoiding meeting with Kise after the games, even those times when John was out of town. " _Avoiding him will help me stabilise my emotions and thoughts_ " he believed, but reality was that spending less time with Kise somehow always translated to thinking of Kise even more. He tried to focus on his basketball and both his coach and manager were positively surprised to see that he had stopped missing any practices these days and was instead taking up extra practices as much as he could. Kise was not happy that they were spending less time now but Aomine had been using " _it is almost near the end of the season, I have to get ready for playoffs_ " as an excuse which Kise could not protest against much.

When finally the season ended, with absolute victory for Aomine's team and playoffs were just around the corner, Kise begged Aomine for a celebration of his victory. Despite doing his best to shake it off, Aomine could not and reluctantly agreed to go drinking with Kise. As expected, John had also joined them and at the night club they went to, for the first time Aomine saw John and Kise intimately flirt as they danced. It was not the first time Aomine witnessed Kise flirt or make out with someone, but unlike before it was not a curious bewilderment he felt and instead a painful realisation. His feelings ran deeper than he thought and as he watched Kise sway his body, flex his muscles, smoothly caress the frame of his lover, Aomine realised; this was not a simple platonic attachment. He desired Kise.

And this was a different kind of desire, it was not like the instinctual need for a release he sought after with his one night stands, it was not simple pleasure gained through mechanical dynamics of intercourse; it was the kind of desire that was infused with longing and yearning, with possessive roots and caring branches, expanding every single touch into a storm of passionate needs of not solely the body but of the heart and the body. He did not simply desire Kise as in having a one night stand with him, no, he desired to be the one near him, the one who draped his arm around him, the one who whispered the things that would make his face slightly redder, the one who Kise would yearn for in both body and heart.

Aomine texted Kise that he was not feeling well probably because he was too tired due to his heavy schedule and left the club early. He could not endure to stay with them with the kind of torturous feelings he was bearing. When he went home that night, after checking the clock and ensuring that it was a suitable hour in Japan, he called Momoi after a long time and simply chatted with her about the most mundane things. After thirty minutes when they were about to hang up, Momoi inquired,

"Dai-chan... whatever you are troubled about, I am sure will be resolved eventually. You are not a child anymore whom the adults or your own inexperience can fail. You are your own man and I believe you won't fail yourself."

He had not said anything to Momoi out of ordinary but he knew she would understand, for she always did, and he did not comment on her wish either, he simply said "Bye" but he did feel a bit better.

The next day when he received a text from Kise, trying to ascertain when could they meet up for a one-on-one before playoffs started, Aomine replied that he could not. Kise immediately called Aomine afterwards and wailed and bawled about just "why" and "how come" but Aomine, for the first time since their reunion, was not just jokingly reluctant but firmly and seriously unwilling and he made this clear. He could hear that Kise was heartbroken from the tone his voice took, but believed that there was no easy cure for their relationship. The phone call was repeated multiple times after the playoffs' start, Aomine blamed his packed schedule to reject the one-on-one offers and despite Kise attending every home game during playoffs, including one or two out of town games, Aomine avoided meeting up after the games as well.

By the time Conference Semi-finals were almost complete, it had been a month since Aomine and Kise ever saw each other. Aomine felt a strong absence, a certain hollowness in every passing day and within himself, but preferred to focus on basketball. He wanted to write a legend this season, show the whole world what he was made of, again, and to Kise – for even if he could not be a supportive friend or anything else, he could at least continue being the absolute shining idol that he had been. The god of the court. As a result of Aomine's increased dedication, games were proving to go even smoother than expected and much more entertaining for many, though Aomine himself could not feel entertained and was thirsty for a different kind of play, a different kind of basketball, a different kind of flow of days... He believed though that this was his new reality and he had to better get used to it. If things continued as they were, he would grow used to it eventually too, but they did not; the one factor Aomine missed in his calculations was to come to wreak havoc.

When Aomine arrived home from the fourth game of the Conference Semi-finals of his team, victorious, he found Kise Ryouta crouching in front of his door, sulking. Aomine could imagine the reason of this abrupt visit but decided to play ignorant,

"Oi, what are you doing here?"

"You know what I am doing here."

"No I don't."

Kise moved away from the door as he got up,

"Open the door so that I can explain you in detail, inside, then."

"Is it something important? Why don't you say now, here?"

"Oh really? Would you prefer me to scream and yell here in the hallway? Because I will scream and yell at you and I would not really mind much to do it here."

Aomine knew that though he would not mind disturbing the neighbours, Kise would mind a lot actually, despite his words. His manager would also mind... a lot.

"If that is your plan, please go home. I am too tired as it is. I don't have time to listen to you."

"Is that so?"

"That is so."

"You are lying!"

"Ha?"

"You would always have time for me, for us, for your friends. You would complain and act all reluctant and act like you don't care but you always care, you always follow up, you always ensure you protect and listen to problems of those around you. And now you suddenly don't have the time?"

The usual antics were absent from Kise's voice and and there was a sincere frown on his face,

"Kise please go home."

"No. I need to talk with you."

"Why are you acting like this? There is nothing to talk about."

"This very thing is very much of a thing to talk about. Can you please open the door?"

Knowing full well the unfathomable levels of Kise's wilfulness, Aomine found himself without any other choice but to have Kise in, though he believed that once they started arguing inside, he could simply don a properly indifferent attitude that could cause Kise to leave, repulsed, on his own accord. With this plan in mind he unlocked the door, opened it, and let Kise in.

Kise did not step further into the house and instead, holding onto his promise, started yelling as Aomine walked to the living room.

"Aominecchi! Explain me your behaviour. Just what the hell is wrong with you?"

After realising that Aomine was not planning to respond to his scream, Kise went further inside to the living room where Aomine was already sprawled on the couch, his gym bags lying around, his arm over his eyes.

"You are really tired...?"

"Yes I am... I told you so. I just got out of a game. If there is something you want to talk about, please bother me later... not now."

Kise looked down to Aomine,

"No."

"No?"

Aomine was rather surprised but he was even more surprised when Kise pulled his arm from over his face and leaned towards him, looking directly in his eyes,

"Because if I go now, next time you will find just another excuse. And the excuses will simply follow. Just how they have been since about two months now."

Aomine shied away from Kise's gaze for the first time in his life and turned on the couch, showing his back to Kise and murmured,

"I am dead tired..."

"No you are not."

"I just came out of a game."

"And I watched that game. You were amazing. It was smooth. There have been times when after playing games of that caliber, you would continue the night by playing one-on-one with me. You are tired but not dead tired. I know your capacity. I know you better than everyone."

Aomine snickered at that and slipped,

"No you don't."

This perplexed Kise and he sat on the table that was facing the couch, he examined Aomine's wide back and shoulders with despaired eyes, he spoke with a silent, dejected voice now,

"I guess you have a reason to say that... Indeed it seems, I don't know you that well any more. What is it you are hiding from me Aominecchi? Why do you not want to see me? Meet me?"

Aomine cursed himself inside for slipping off like that and tried to remedy,

"You are overthinking it... I have just been busy."

"You know it is a lie..."

"No it is not."

"Is it because I am gay?"

"Wait what?!"

Aomine turned around to face Kise, he was scowling,

"Knowing that I am gay is something but then seeing me in a steady relationship is something else... Did I expose too much? Perhaps despite your words, you were biased, and it disturbed you? I was just trying to balance the two you know... I just wanted to ensure that John knew how much you meant to me and vice versa."

"How could you think I am like that? We already went through this and I told you, I don't have any such prejudice. Why are you stuck there? God damn it Kise, I cannot believe you would doubt me like that."

"Why then? I have been thinking and thinking and I cannot find a single reason. Why are you avoiding me?"

"I am not!" Aomine shouted and then instantly turned his gaze elsewhere, first to his right and then down to the ground, he had gotten into a sitting position now and his fists were pushing onto the couch.

"You cannot even look into my eyes properly and you are saying that you are not avoiding me? Fine. If you are not avoiding me, let's play one-on-one."

"Now?"

"Yes, right now."

"Stop being an idiot. I am tired. Just go home."

"No."

"Go away."

"I will not until you tell me why you re avoiding me." Kise held strongly onto Aomine's shoulders and leaned towards him, Aomine was intimidated and this was not a feeling Aomine was used to and he could not help but simply mumble, almost in a begging tone,

"Please Kise, just go home, leave me alone."

Sincerity of the words hit Kise painfully; Aomine had cursed and teased him relentlessly over the yeas but it had all been jokes and games, seeing Aomine sincerely despaired, troubled, depressed, and wishing to be left alone was a rare sight he had only seen once before and then at least it was directed at all people around him, not specifically or specially to Kise as it was now. The tears just started flowing amok and he was not sure why he was even crying, Aomine drooped his head down, he was feeling terrible, he expected Kise to leave him alone after those words and Kise's grip on his shoulders had gotten looser... But then, suddenly, instead of moving away silently, Kise tightened his grip on Aomine's shoulders, slightly pushed him as well and screamed,

"Like hell I'll just leave you alone!"

"What?!"

"We went through this once. All of us. Do you know how terrible it was? Do you think I'll go through it again? I won't. Tell me. Tell me why you want to be alone."

"Please."

"Don't please me, you never say 'please'. Stop being a coward and tell me the reason."

Aomine – still to this day – is not sure just why at that very moment he said those words, was it Kise's intimidation and wilfulness? Was it the idea of being a "coward" that intimidated him so deeply? Or was it perhaps the thought that saying it would be the blade that would finally and perfectly cut off his relation to Kise and bring all this drama to an end? Why did he utter those words, so easily and so softly, at that specific moment? He did not know. He has never known. But he did utter them,

"I like you."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"You really think cruel jokes like this will make me change my mind?"

"It is not a joke. I like you. I love you."

"Stop making a fool of me. Is it fun to belittle my sexuality? You just said you had no prejudice, you bastard."

"I am not fooling around. I am not mocking you. I like you."

"Stop saying it."

"You were the one who insisted to hear it!"

Aomine shouted very loudly and Kise's grip on his shoulders faded away, Kise stood up, a step further away but still in front of Aomine and stared at him with a face equally upset and confused,

"Why? How?"

"I don't know why... or how. I don't know. It just happened."

"Don't fuck with me, what do you mean it just happened?"

"I don't know! I wish I did. It just happened."

"What happened to your big boobs obsession?"

"I still like them... I don't know, I guess this makes me bisexual."

"Shut up."

"You asked!"

"Oh God... This is worse, this is horrible. How can you play around like this? Just because you know I am gay you go ahead and you do--"

"I am not joking around. Do you think it was easy to recognise these feelings?"

"Feelings? You are just curious! That is all. You learnt of a new thing and you are interested. That's all. You are like a fucking adolescent."

"I am not an adolescent. This is not a simply curiosity, if it was I would just go bang a rent-boy, not agonise after you... I have feelings for you."

"You are lying."

"I am not!"

"It is just that you are lonely and I was conveniently there for you... If you only had a girlfriend..."

"Maybe that was how it started, maybe not, I don't know."

"It is just a delusion. Yes, yes, maybe you are just upset that I have a relationship... just being a possessive friend. You are confusing your feelings. "

"I am telling you that I like you. I want to be with you. I want to touch you. I get jealous of your boyfriend because I want to be in his place, not because you spend less time with me as a friend. How can that be a delusion? What do you need me to do to prove you? Do you want me to kiss you? Because if that's what you need, I will do it."

Irked at Aomine's words, Kise suddenly stepped farther away as though he was burned and his face showed fear, which clenched at Aomine's chest,

"Is... is it because I said I used to like you?"

Kise's voice was shaking and there was audible sobs as he asked. Aomine responded as calmly as he could,

"No."

"It was a childhood crush. Just that. Are you pitying me? Or is it piquing your curiosity more or something? Just wondering how it feels to kiss a man? A man who has loved and adored you as a child and still chases after you like a goddamn dream? Is that it? What the heck is it?"

"I don't know what it is but no, I love _the you now_. I started developing these feelings for you before you even told me about your crush in middle school."

Aomine, desperately trying to ensure himself that no, he had not broken the things, ruined their friendship, stood up and moved his arm forward, to reach Kise's shoulder, to simply pat it, to reassure him that he was still his friends, regardless of his changing feelings that he was not ill-intentioned, that if he could he would just make these unwanted emotions go away... But the simple sight of the movement of Aomine's hand towards himself caused Kise to only flinch and jump away farther, with eyes that showed even more fear as though it was possible and a scream that would echo constantly in Aomine's ears for the rest of the night:

"Don't touch me!"

After he screamed these words, Kise turned his back and run away. Aomine's hand hung in the air, empty and somehow cold despite the warm air of the May.

 


	10. Chapter 10

"You haven't gone to any game for so long..."

"Yeah..."

"Any reason why? I thought you would go to all home games and at least half of the away games for Conference Semi-Finals and Finals..."

"No special reason..."

"Is that so?"

"Uh...hmm reminds me, want to play one-on-one with me tomorrow?"

"We already played the other day."

"So?"

"So: normally you don't want to play with me more than once per week, because you say that your knee can take at most two one-on-one's and you must have at least one with Aomine."

"I won't have one with him..."

"You haven't had one with him for a long time though right... for a month or so by now?"

"You want to play or not?"

"Are you and Aomine having troubles?"

"What makes you think that..."

"Kise..." John stopped chopping the leek and stared at Kise, who had begged him to teach how to cook yet was now playing with his fingers, leaning to the kitchen counter, absolutely uninterested in the food and the conversation. He sighed,

"Kise, to be frank, it is obvious. You always talk about Aomine. You always meet with him, you always want to play basketball with him, and you always find some way to play basketball with him – at least that's what I understand from the things you tell me. It is already weird for the two of you to not meet or play ball at all for weeks, still you were complaining and venting to me about it almost every single day. And now, for a whole week you do not even utter Aomine's name. No complaints whatsoever either."

"I talk a lot about him because he is like an idol or mentor to me. Plus anybody who is a basketball fan would be amazed by his talent."

"And I understand this as someone who enjoys basketball. I did not say otherwise."

Kise sighed,

"We are... going through some tough times."

"I see... well the NBA finals are around the corner and he is in the middle of playoffs, he must be very busy too."

"Yeah..."

"I'm sure you guys will get over it." John smiled and ruffled Kise's hair, which made him flinch as he remembered Aomine do the exact motion so many times throughout the years, often jokingly, sometimes trying to cheer him up, and sometimes just to tease and ruin his hair style... Kise smiled with a tinge of nostalgia.

After John left that night Kise spent hours on the balcony drinking tea as he watched rest of the city. Replaying Aomine's words, again and again in his mind, he felt a bitter-sweet irony; " _how happy would I be if he said those things while we were teenagers_ " he thought.

" _Would our futures differ? If we somehow got together then, where would we be now?_ "

He had never liked "what if"s and this particular one did not feel right either; he abhorred regrets. And he thought that perhaps, it was for the best that Aomine had not said nor felt those when they were younger, for they were so careless, so immature, so naively arrogant, so cheerfully ignorant... They could never make it work and knowing how stubborn both were, they would take things so far, so far that perhaps they could not still be friends. But then, could they continue to be friends now anyway? Could he still carelessly drag Aomine to candy shops? Could he not mind as his hair would be ruffled after a particularly daring dunk? Could he still chase after Aomine? It was unfathomable to him how they had gotten together again so fast, and perhaps due to the great absence each felt of Kuroko and Momoi, of their quartet diminishing to a duo, they had showered each other with twice the affection, with twice the patience, with twice the tolerance... and now they were tangled in this mess, in this relentless web of feelings, of new and old, and Kise thought that they were the closest they had ever been in their lives yet fallen more distant than ever in a mere moment, by a simple utterance...

Was he hurt so much because the possibilities and the paranoia and the suspicions that kept flooding him regarding Aomine's feelings and how he could deal with them? Or was it due to something else? He simply felt too burdened, too overwhelmed by all this, he simply wanted to forget it all, rewind back the time to a couple of months ago, to that shabby ramen place, where each had slurped their noodles enthusiastically as they made small talk. How simple and fun was it then. If only they could preserve that. Just that...

The next night, Kise watched from the TV as Aomine's team won the Conference Finals, 4-0, like rest of the playoffs so far for them. There it was, they were going to play NBA finals after a long time in team's history| they had been coming to playoffs regularly but the finals was often snatched away in the recent years. On the other hand, Aomine had played in the NBA finals in every season he has played in NBA so far, so career-wise it only strengthened his claim of domination. But unlike rest of the season, when he was given the mike to comment upon the Conference Finals victory and going to the NBA finals, instead of boasting his own talent and that of his team's with a large smile on his face, he simply commented that he was happy. His face however did not look happy, he did not even smile despite single-handedly accounting for half of his team's score in the last game, which in itself was astonishing. Reporters and commentators, somehow quickly managed to interpret and present this as yet another " _Aomine is too full of himself_ " story, one commentator Kise came across on the TV later that night, after playing the clip of Aomine's comments, said:

" _Can you believe this guy? If he is going to lie, he could at least smile and lie properly. He is literally mocking us, mocking NBA, mocking the whole nation. He is not taking it seriously._ "

Kise felt his stomach churn in disgust, sometimes he was not sure how Aomine could handle all the twisted media attention. He was still a relatively young man burdened with a talent so incredible that it would be hard to bear even for experienced wise old men... As though that was not enough every single move or word of his was being scrutinised; if he smiled, they would call him to be donning a "cocky smile", if he did not, they called him to be "mocking" them. If he said anything, he was regarded as an "angry brat", if he did not, he was called a "distant foreigner". There was no way of pleasing people or media and somehow, perhaps because they were burdened with the mere fact that a talent of this scale existed, so few actually spoke of Aomine's basketball talent. They preferred to target his personality than what he actually did on the court.

Kise had always thought that Aomine was lonely, that being Aomine in itself meant being lonely, alone at the top, the lone brightest star... That was the reason he had tried to get reacquainted with Aomine despite his own reservations, he could not bear the cold solitude the young man carried around with him and honestly, he himself was struggling with loneliness at the time... and now, he had left Aomine too. He had not just stopped chasing Aomine like before when the life had separated their ways; this time, he had turned his back on Aomine when finally his hand had reached out to him. He felt a pain on his chest and his heart tightened...

The first game of the NBA finals was in San Antonio, Texas as the Knicks was playing against San Antonio Spurs. Aomine had already arranged with his manager that he would be leaving for a tour of Europe for various promotional reasons after the finals, then visit Japan shortly. He would have to come back sooner than he wished though as the big advertisement campaign contract his manager was seeking with Puma had finally been agreed upon and the first advertisement video would have to be shot during late summer in New York.

" _I will be busy and he will be busy, maybe by the time the next season starts, we will even be normal again... maybe._ " Aomine thought as he entered the venue for the first game of the finals with his team. The sooner the finals could end, the sooner he could go, the sooner the finals could end, the sooner he could hide – from everyone, the media, his manager, Kise...

The game started at a breathtaking pace and Aomine showed just how bright he could shine again, and again, and again... Even though the game was very tough, he was able to ensure that his team stayed on the lead right off the bat. His moves were so flawless, every single motion so perfect and fluid, one would assume that this was not a human but a ghost... From outside it was hard to ascertain, and it was also hard to ascertain this: was he playing basketball, or was he dancing? Was there a mysterious tune that only he could hear that allowed him to not simply move but almost flow around the court, stream around the court so smoothly. In reality, unknown to most, he was overexerting himself, he knew it, but he thought he could last through four games like this, four wins, just four, if he could do it, then it would end... the season would be over... it would be all over for now...

He was in the middle of a fast attack when it happened. While scanning the forward area to his right for the defence players' moves, he saw the familiar face of the blond in his peripheral vision. He blinked and looked to the Silver Circle base line, the VIP seating to see Kise now; who was now standing up and looking at him. The ball fell from his hand for the first time in his life during an official match and he froze in his spot for a split second. Spectators, his teammates, his coach, the rival team though continued on with the game, were all baffled at this blunder: in the first game of NBA finals, near the end of the first quarter, in the middle of a fast attack, Aomine Daiki had stopped abruptly in the middle of the court and lost the ball himself without any intervention... He gained his composure in the next second but basketball was a fast game and Aomine was one of the fastest at it; this blunder of about 3 seconds not only negatively affected the scoreboard right away but was already causing a lot of buzz in both the corporate and social media.

He was able to recapture the lead they previously had and won the game, avoiding looking again to the place Kise was sitting. At the end of the game the main question in almost everyone's minds and lips was "What the hell happened to Aomine Daiki?"

" _Did he just fall asleep in the middle of NBA finals? That is just too much. Seriously, who does he think he is?!_ "

Comments roared, from the TV commentators to Facebook posts, asking more or less same questions and making equally outrageous claims.

When asked about it post-game – and he knew this was a question he had to answer, at least to ensure that the rumours never found exactly what Aomine was looking at – Aomine smiled and said "Even the best players make stupid mistakes at times, I looked and saw defence move and for a split second my mind went blank, I couldn't think of the proper way to continue my attack... I know you are not used to hear this from me but I made a mistake. Must be because I am still inexperienced."

His words were not random, he knew there was no way to shut the media up without giving them anything to chew on and the one thing they would love to hear would be Aomine saying he made a mistake. It didn't take long for them to catch the bait: " _Even Miracles Stutter_ " was already the headline of a prominent basketball news site just a few seconds later. Aomine would not see it till the next day though for he was already lost elsewhere: Kise had texted him, asking to meet after the game. He spent the next hour trying his best to get rid of the press and upon succeeding made it to the place they were supposed to meet.

"What the hell was that?"

Kise's tone was one of shock and displeasure at the same time, he was standing while holding a basketball underneath one of his arms, his other arm in the air, pointing his finger to Aomine, like a coach scolding his favourite player who had just screwed up,

"I was surprised to see you."

"You dropped the ball, Aominecchi! _You dropped the ball_!"

"God damn it... You don't have to rub it in my face. I know."

Kise had not seen Aomine's cheeks don such a deep red in a long time and started giggling,

"I am so stupid, am not I..."

"We both know whose nickname is Ahomine... Ah... I am sorry. I was not expecting to see you here... and then how did you even get tickets for such a VIP seat... God what am I even talking about, I am sorry. I am sorry about before. I am sorry about me."

The words felt alien to Aomine as they left his mouth, truthfully he had never bared himself like he did to Kise before to anyone nor had he ever truly confessed his wrongdoings and apologised so sincerely, he thought that if Satsuki knew she would be proud of him... after a brief silence Kise responded,

"I am sorry too."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for..."

"Yes I do. I acted mean. I did not show the same openness you showed me. I am very immature when it comes to you for some reason... And yes, I had to pull so many favours across two different continents actually to get those tickets, you would not believe... Let's just say I am so lucky that I should be called the God of Luck from now on."

A silence befell them for a few seconds that Aomine decided were the longest he had ever lived through then Kise suddenly leapt forward and gripped Aomine on his right shoulder with one hand, the other still gripping on the basketball; perhaps this gesture was turning into  _a thing_  for Kise, Aomine thought,

"Ah! I cannot do this. I cannot stand this. I have to play. I have to play basketball with you. And I don't care. I mean... I do care what you feel, of course, you are my friend but I don't want anything to come between our friendship or our basketball. And... and I am sorry, I don't really feel like that towards you and I cannot return your feelings but I like you a lot as a friend, you are precious to me. And I need to play basketball with you. Like now."

Aomine was very surprised not only at Kise's words but also at his frantic and strained face and started laughing uncontrollably,

"Wow, I think I just simultaneously got dumped by and reunited with the same person huh... And 'precious'? Please. That is too cheesy Kise."

Kise started laughing as well,

"Aw Aominecchi, but I have always been cheesy. You like me that way don'tcha? Come on, let's play one-on-one."

"I just got out of an NBA finals game."

"I know. That is why, I need it now."

Aomine continued laughing but his eyes were getting wet,

"We are in San Antonio, I don't even know where we can find a court right now..."

"We can google... let me search. The worst case we can fly back home tonight, I am sure there are flights. Can't we?"

"God... there is no way to get rid of you, is there?"

"Nope. You have to play with me. So that I can learn to win against you."

Kise, though continued laughing, burst into tears as well while uttering the last few words and upon this Aomine felt tears flowing down his face as well from his already wet eyes,

"Fine." Aomine said,

"Good" Kise replied, grabbed Aomine's wrist and started dragging him, while he frantically searched for any streetball courts on his phone with his other hand. While the online search proved to be rather fruitless, and they did not exchange a single word, after walking for about 15 minutes desperately in a city neither knew at all, they came across a shabby streetball court. When, at the miraculous sight of this highly improbable yet definitely existing court, Kise finally removed his hand from Aomine's wrist and Aomine felt the slight wetness of the sweat left on his wrist, courtesy of the warm Summer night.

As he ran towards the court still holding the basketball, Kise's voice that now carried a tone of naïve joy, shouted back to Aomine, without even sparing a glance behind,

"Stop crying and come play one-on-one with me Aominecchi!"

"Idiot Kise, I am not crying..."

Then Aomine ran inside the court as well.

 


	11. Chapter 11

As Aomine had sought after, the next games of the NBA finals went rather smooth as well. He was glad too for honestly he was not sure how he would fare, if he had to play even just one more game; he had been overexerting himself for some time now and his body was not keeping up well with his capacity for basketball. Kise attended every single game and Aomine would hear the screeching sound of "Aominecchi" now and then while playing; he believed this was an internal wishful thinking that simply resonated in his ears as part of a plan devised by his subconscious to motivate him during those longest and hardest final few seconds of each quarter... And it was true, hearing Kise's voice among thousands was not physically possible. But then, perhaps, existence of Aomine Daiki was not physically possible either.

They would eat and talk a bit after the games but Kise did not ask for a one-on-one. Right before the last game of the finals – or what Aomine had predicted to be the last game and had predicted correctly, he did send a text regarding this though:

"I did not want to win against you when you were not in your top form Aominecchi, but I am not going to be so merciful afterwards".

" _Damn brat_ " Aomine thought looking especially at the series of cheering and winking emoticons, " _talk to me like that after you have beaten me._ " What he knew but preferred to ignore was that Kise had beaten him, in another way, in a different context though.

In terms of gameplay or Aomine's performance the last game of the NBA Finals was not very different than the first one, sans the frozen-Aomine-dropping-the-ball-causing-the-world-go-wild, and at the end they won. Flawlessly and with a good margin too. And this time when reporters asked Aomine his opinion, he said that he was happy and this time he actually smiled; Kise thought that he knew that smile, it was the same as that of the boy he had loved once; the same smile that looked more like a smirk than a smile nevertheless was a smile. A smile of confidence, a smile of joy, a smile of satisfaction – same smile he showed after a near-impossible shot he would make in middle school basketball practices, he was showing the whole nation now. And perhaps, perhaps very little, very slightly, Kise was jealous of that somewhere deep down.

After the game, during celebrations, the players decided to give the Championship Game ball to their coach; the man who had led the team for years, had brought them to play-offs countless times, but was finally seeing a Finals appearance and a championship. During the cheers and the drinking and the singing, coach whispered Aomine to stay late after others left. Hence, despite planning to leave early, Aomine stuck around till very late; once everyone had left the room at their home arena where they had held the unofficial post-game party, coach offered the Championship Game ball he had been holding onto to Aomine.

"I want you to take this."

"Uh, coach, the team gave it to you. It is yours."

"Not really, is it?"

Aomine fell silent, he was not used to this kind of situations; if it was a friend he would have replied "not really, I won it for you" but a coach and an old man at that... He felt a certain kind of unease being his usual arrogant self near this man who had spent so many years in the sport, for the sport. Coach sighed and sat down...

"I... I and the team, we... We worked for years to get to this stage but simply could not. You... You came and in less than a year we are here. Most do not like you for that: what others work hard for years or what they could only dream of, you are able to do it easily. When I first heard you speak so highly of yourself it did piss me off like others, but I knew that it was not simple arrogance: arrogance is when you overestimate yourself, most of the time you do not overestimate yourself... Perhaps there was a time you did, I have not known you for long, but I do not think you overestimate yourself right now. You are actually very much aware of your talent and just how amazing it is and you simply state that fact. But it is a difficult fact for us to comprehend and accept. It is insulting to be honest..."

Aomine wanted to say something but could not find anything to say, seeing his troubled face the coach chuckled,

"Yet you do not care about it do you? Maybe you would even be happier if you were less talented. We worked so much and for so long to win, to come here, to hold this ball. But to you it actually does not mean much. It is not money you are after. It is not fame either. It is not the glory of victory at all. You simply want to play basketball, don't you? Play basketball against people who can put up a good fight? Who can endure you a bit more than others? And winning is important only as part of that joy coming to a perfect conclusion. So while we despise you for being so talented, it must be incomprehensible to you, for you do not focus on the talent but on the joy that the game brings."

Aomine sat near his coach and sighed,

"I like winning, being talented too... I just don't actually like or enjoy them as much as playing basketball against worthy opponents."

His coach couldn't help but laugh at this innocent comment,

"That's my boy... You know, I saw you once... It was after a game too, a couple of hours after, I was just going to this pub I frequent and I caught you playing basketball at one of those shabby old streetball courts. You were with a friend, a blond young man I think and he actually rivalled you very well; must have been another pro... From a foreign league maybe? Anyway. I saw the same face you make during the games while you were playing with him. And I realised, it doesn't matter for you if it is a streetball game well after midnight, or an NBA Finals game in a fully packed stadium; as long as you have a worthy opponent, you play because you enjoy and you enjoy because you play. It is that simple."

"Is it bad? Is it bad that it is that simple?"

"No, I don't think so. Everyone has their own way of enjoying life and basketball, so why not? Actually, I think I would like to see it a bit that way too. I think I would like other players to see it like that too, just a bit. Certainly not feel or think the same was as you do, not that it is possible or necessarily good anyway, but I think if they could catch a glimpse of that point of view, it would actually help them. It would help us. We could grow. And I think you could grow too. You have a lot of potential but you must know yourself that your body alone could not fulfil all you could and would want to do on court. But we could, as a team."

Coach stood up and offered the ball to Aomine again,

"Take this ball. And take this responsibility with it: you will not simply drag us up here again but you will help us climb altogether up here, we will be victorious again and we will enjoy this game a lot more and we will grow a lot more. You will be our legendary Ace. _'Our' Ace_. And then we will have many, many more Championship Game balls and I will take the next one, for myself, I swear. Even if the others complain and say 'but coach we gave you the last year's one', I'll just say that I lost it or something. But, if you again prefer to carry us here yourself or maybe leave us at the very bottom, you bring your damned ass back here and give my championship ball back to me. Because then I ain't gonna leave this precious baby to an irresponsible jerk like you."

Aomine chuckled and took the ball from the coach and quietly said "Thanks". The old man patted his shoulder, "that's a big responsibility you took there" and Aomine replied, "yeah, I feel like I asked for your daughter's hand in marriage" – he didn't expect the coach to slap the back of his head so strongly.

"Argh, coach, what the – I mean... What are you doing?"

"Shut up, don't even joke about it" the old man said with a threatening look, then chuckled a bit and moved towards the door. Aomine simply stared at the ball that was left in his hands...

When Aomine returned home it was already nearing sunrise and he was happy that the last game had taken place in their home city, he could not imagine taking a flight in his current condition. It felt as though every single bone and muscle in his body hurt; the message his body was sending was very clear: you dare to pull something like this again, I leave you to die. He promised himself to never be a brat and overexert himself due to purely unnecessary angst. What he had not expected to see was the blond who was camping in front of his door, obviously bored and currently playing a game on his phone.

"Candy Crush? Really? Kise, just how old are you?"

"Ah Aominecchi, you are back! And so what, everybody plays Candy Crush. No age restrictions!" Kise pouted, Aomine chuckled,

"Move so I can open the door."

"Oh so now you are fine with taking me in? I won't even have to beg or cause a commotion?"

"You know Kise, you recover way too quickly. Don't even remind me that please."

Kise chose to not say anything but giggle slightly; truthfully, the awful night of Aomine's confession had slightly turned into a matter of innocent fun for Kise, now that he felt more confident about his relationship with Aomine. He had been balancing both John and Aomine rather well and Aomine did not act any different than before, so his possible feelings, Kise thought, would probably disappear soon. The first time he had made a teasing reference, he had immediately felt bad supposing that Aomine would be hurt, but for some reason it had instead caused Aomine's cheeks to don a soft shade of pink and Kise had thought that it was pretty. He simply could not help but make these teasing references now and then, solely to see Aomine's well guarded yet subtly exposed lovely reactions to them.

"So what were you doing camping in front of my door?"

"Ah, this! Congratulations! A gift for your great victory!"

Kise took out the nicely gift wrapped thin package and when Aomine took it in his hands he thought that it felt like a magazine or a booklet,

"Don't tell me you are giving me a copy of your modelling portfolio or photobook or something? Even you can't be that lame right?"

"Aw, here I am giving you a gift for your great victory and not even asking for a one-on-one out of concern for your body" - Kise paused for a second and winked which caused Aomine to blush a little due to the obvious pun and Kise thought that perhaps he was enjoying this too much, he continued, "and you are just being mean! Such a meanie, Aominecchi, always!"

Mock pouting like he pulled so often, he took the ball Aomine was carrying under one of his arms as Aomine took to unwrap the gift...

"Hmm... why are you carrying a ball home anyway? I never saw you carry a basketball home after a game."

"It's the championship game ball."

"Ah... HUH? Are you for real?!"

"OH MY GOD Kise, I love you!"

Both of their eyes were stuck on the respective objects in their hands as though they were holding the Holy Grail,

"No I love you! I mean wow, I can't believe I am actually holding the NBA Championship Game Ball!"

"Horikita Mai, limited edition 'Beaches of Bali' photobook! This is from freakin' 6 years ago and it was her second last photobook ever to be published before she retired and like I searched all around for this at the time but couldn't get one!"

"Ah... that... well, it turns out my old manager in Japan has a friend in the company that published that photobook."

"Wait, why didn't you tell me that before? I could have gotten my hands on this baby way earlier!"

"Aominecchi, please, manners. Is this how you should thank the one who finally gave you the opportunity reunite with your beloved Horikita Mai in Bali?"

"Whatever..."

Aomine almost hurled himself to the sofa in the living room, eyes glued to the photobook.

"Wow. Are you seriously going to just... like... ignore me? Just like that?"

"Why not? I am trying to concentrate here."

"You know, I knew you would be happy... But this happy? Makes me wonder if you have grown up at all."

"Says the man who whines, bawls, pouts, and laughs like a five years old."

Kise giggled and slowly threw the ball onto Aomine's head,

"Oi, Kise what the heck?"

"Hehe... Payback."

"For what?"

"Could be for many things but hey, you don't remember?"

"You are crazy..."

"Well anyway, it is way too late and I waited for you like an hour. I knew you would be late but this late..."

"Coach wanted to talk with me", Aomine's voice tensed up a bit and though he continued to glue his eyes on the photobook as he lied on the sofa, Kise could tell he wasn't focusing on what he was looking at,

"Pep talk or sermon?"

"Kind of both... the team actually gave the Championship Game ball to him. As a present for looking after them for so long; despite making it to latest rounds of play-offs they never made it to finals before."

"Hmm why do you have it then?"

"Well... coach told me that I more or less carried the team to the Finals by myself and he wanted me to properly lead and help the team to achieve it as a whole next time. He said I should keep the ball if I can do that, and if I cannot, I have to give it back to him at the end of next season."

"Hmm... that's a tough responsibility. Especially for you, I mean you never identify so deeply as 'the ace of a team' you know... bearing that responsibility..."

"Unlike you..."

"Huh?"

"You know coach also mentioned how he actually caught me and you playing streetball one night, a couple of hours after an actual game. He was amazed at my stamina and love of the game, he apparently thought you were a pro too, from a foreign league or something."

"Wow that is so nice hear..."

"Not surprising though. What I am saying is... when he told me that I could not help but think, he would prefer an ace like you over one like me. He said he loved the way I loved basketball so much that I cared more about the joy of playing than perhaps a personal victory itself. He wanted me to take lead, take responsibility. That is basically describing you; you enjoy the game almost as much as I do, but you naturally take the lead, take the responsibility."

Aomine paused for a few seconds and Kise was lost in thoughts, then Aomine continued, while his eyes were turned to the pages of the photobook in his hands, his gaze seemed to be elsewhere, somewhere unseen,

"I... I still remember your crying faces. After your losses on the court. Especially the first year... You cried so much and at first I thought it was the despair of losing and it was that to a degree but the real reason you could not bear losing was because you felt like you disappointed others who relied on you or not deliver on what you could have for others. And I thought, I wondered... Could I ever feel like that? Not just feel anger or shock or excitement or a stronger hunger for playing more and more at a loss, but despair out of the fear of disappointing others, out of the fear of not helping others enough... I hate how serious and mature you can be despite your childish antics."

Kise chuckled,

"I see... You... You overestimate me Aominecchi. Well, I think I should go, I had told John that I would come back by breakfast time and you won't believe how early he likes to have breakfast. And you seem to be too busy with Ms Horikita anyway! I shall leave you to your beloved!"

"Tch, you better." Aomine said indifferently and rolled over to his side on the sofa, making his back face Kise; for some reason he felt that if he faced Kise at that moment he would just expose too much of what was going inside of him – of the turmoil, of the passion, of the want...

"Tch, tch, never the thankful, Aominecchi! Good night... or rather good morning."

After he heard the clicking of the front door, knowing that Kise had left his house, Aomine stood up and placed the photobook on the table in front of the sofa, and went to his room to sleep.

The next few days passed too quickly for Aomine, too many things to wrap up before his European tour was to start on the 19th of June. He had squeezed in two one-on-one's with Kise though because he knew that if he did not, Kise would probably camp in front of his door again; he was seriously overwhelmed during both sessions by Kise's sheer strength and wide array of tricks and talents. He won in both games by very, very slight margins and secretly fantasised Kise playing in NBA too. Just how amazing it would be, he thought; he did not share this particular fantasy with Kise though, afraid that he would regard it as pity, or worse if it would hurt him by throwing him in a hole of despair and regret. Kise was like a tremendously hungry beast in both of the games, savouring each moment of their games, attacking like a ferocious animal, with an unfathomable desire emanating simply to touch the ball, to steal it, to own it... Aomine thought that it was rather sexy and alluring and captivating and it felt strange, it felt new; it was neither like the titillating sight of bare breasted women he had been fond of since youth nor the arousing sensuality arising from the simple sways of Kise's dancing body that he had witnessed before... A brutal power, a spectacular hunger, an infinitely expanding talent, all exposed through a series of graceful assaults – this was Kise Ryouta on court. And Aomine liked it.

Despite Kise's invitation to either of the birthday parties he held – he was holding two of them, one with acquaintances and colleagues at a bar and one with close friends and John at his own home – Aomine politely declined all citing the last-minute jobs he had to finalise before flying to Europe the day after Kise's birthday. Though Kise whined a little, he did not push Aomine on it and Aomine thought that it was probably out of kindness and understanding; truthfully, Aomine was already busy and would be too bored in either of the parties and the second one would be especially unbearable due to John's presence. Aomine thought that Kise was way too skilful at managing people.

The night of the June 18th, at around midnight when many of Kise's guests had left and the few who were still around were too drunk, the door bell rang. Thinking that a drunk friend had forgotten something at his home Kise opened the door and instead was greeted by a courier. He received the slightly large box that was addressed to him and was rather curious what the mysterious carton box carried; it was not gift wrapped either and it did not seem like a birthday present, the person who left it with the courier service had not left a name, and well, the timing was a little odd too.

"Ah don't open it, maybe it is a creepy thing from a stalker-fan of yours or something!" a friend exclaimed,

"Hmm yeah I mean it isn't even gift wrapped, plus really, sending it at midnight? Definitely creepy." another added,

"It does look a bit suspicious" John concluded.

Curious but a bit scared especially after hearing those comments, Kise brought the box near his ear and slightly shook it, though others could not hear anything, for a second an idea came to his mind and he thought to himself, " _no way_ ", he went ahead and opened it. To the surprise of his friends and himself too actually, " _because really, no way!_ " he thought, it was a basketball. There was a signature on it, of Aomine Daiki.

"A basketball? Really? Isn't that a little lame? I mean no offence Kise, I know you adore the sport but..." a friend commented disappointed,

"Oh but it has Aomine Daiki's signature on it... Wait a second, weren't you saying that you knew him? Gosh, is this a gift from him? People say he is cocky but actually giving a signed basketball like this..." another friend added,

"At this hour too! Rather impolite..." a third chimed in.

"Yeah, what a show off" Kise said laughing to himself sincerely and John thought, in a puzzling way, perhaps Kise meant it and not mean it at the same time.

Later that night or rather near sunrise, when all the guests had already left and John had already fallen asleep hours ago, after failing to sleep after so many tries Kise got up and went into the living room. After sitting on the couching doing nothing but staring at his cell phone for a couple of minutes, he took it and after some hesitation of whether to send a text message or to call, he decided to call. It did not even take three rings for Aomine to actually pick up.

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Not really, almost sunrise I think... But you did pick it up in two rings."

"Whatever... What do you want?"

"I wanted to say 'have a good trip'. And a good flight."

"Okay..."

"And thank you..."

"Um... okay."

"Ah, but you were supposed to return the ball to your coach if you failed to lead the team as a leader and as an ace to many many victories right? Damn, what are you gonna do Aominecchi? Now that you gave it to me, I am telling you, I am not giving it back even if you fail in your task."

"Hmm... Yeah, I guess I missed that detail. I will have to handle the expectation I guess... Have to take on the responsibility. No other choice."

"Yeah. Sucks, huh?"

"Yeah."

Kise smiled and though they were just talking on the phone, somehow Aomine felt it, could picture it in that moment.

"Good night" Kise said,

"Good morning" Aomine replied, and hung up.

Several hours after that talk, Aomine Daiki flew to Europe for his first tour of the continent for promotional purposes.

 


	12. Chapter 12

"Want to play one-on-one?"

John asked as he took the basketball that was carefully placed on the centre of the large coffee table, Kise, who had been lazily lying on the couch doing nothing jumped up in a split second,

"Sure! Let me put on some shorts though!"

As he rushed to the bedroom, John snickered a little and started spinning the ball on his finger. " _He really is cocky_ " he thought as he realised Aomine's signature on the ball. Kise was back in almost a few seconds, he sure was enthusiastic and fast when it came to preparing for basketball,

"Come on, let's go out! Oh wait, I forgot my ball..." as Kise turned to go back to the bedroom – for he always kept his basketballs in bedroom for some reason unknown to all but Kise – John shouted,

"Ah no need, we can just use this?"

He stopped spinning it and took the ball underneath one arm, Kise turned to look but upon seeing the ball John was referring to, smiled rather timidly,

"Um... I'll go get my own ball. We shouldn't use that one."

"Why not?"

"It is a present, you know..."

"Ryouta, it is a basketball with Aomine's signature on it. That's all."

"Yeah and no, so let me just get my ball."

"No, I don't get this. Why? If you are worried it will get dirty or signature will fade or something, he can sign it again."

"It is not about that..."

"What is it about then? Why do you treasure it as though it's a precious jewel? It is just a ball Aomine signed."

"It is important but I am not guarding it or anything..."

"Why do you not want to play with this ball then?"

"It is not that I don't want to play with it..."

"Oh, you don't want to play with it _with me_ , maybe?"

"It's not like that, look you don't get it."

"No, I get it. You idolise him so much despite being pretty much stuck together that you do not want anybody to even use what he signed? Maybe it is disturbing you that I have it under my arm now?"

"No, it is not like that."

"It is just a ball Aomine signed. Why do you have to put him on pedestal for everything? I mean for God's sake, for your birthday he gave you a ball he signed. And that's it. To you that's the greatest thing. Is that it? You weren't even nearly as happy receiving the watch I literally spend a month to find for you and spent a small fortune on."

"I am not putting him on a pedestal or anything like that. You cannot understand why it made me happy... and, why are you even mentioning something like this? Are you jealous? And I really, _really_ liked the watch. It is just gifts are not necessarily valued by the actual price of the object."

"I did not mean it solely in terms of money. Take Christina's gift; she herself knit a scarf for you and that is to me very meaningful though it probably didn't cost much. You weren't as happy about that either."

Kise sighed as he sat down on the couch, the argument was going elsewhere and for some reason he felt that they would not be playing one-on-one any time soon,

"You don't get it, it is not necessarily about the money or, though it may sound mean, about the effort spent... I really loved that scarf too. The thing is sometimes people who has known you for longer can just find the perfect gifts for you that may make you very happy even if they don't seem much to others. I am sure your daughter gives you better presents than most people, maybe not the most expensive or sentimental ones at face value but deeper in a subtler way..."

"Are you seriously comparing the bond between me and my daughter to what you and... Aomine have?"

"I did not say that. Come on! I was just trying to illustrate that knowing someone for longer allows you that kind of luxury..."

"And for you that luxury is receiving anything touched or marked by Aomine? Would you be happy if he gave you a used napkin or something?"

"Oh God, John, you are being childish... and I said again it is not--"

"It is _just a basketball_! That Aomine signed!"

"It is the championship game ball!"

Kise bit his tongue right after he said it for some reason, something in his mind booed this slip and nudged him, " _you shouldn't have let that out..._ "

"What? Wait... This... This ball is the NBA Finals Championship Game Ball?!"

"Yes..."

"From this year?"

"Yes..."

"But on the news I heard that the team gave the ball to the Coach..."

"And the Coach gave it to Aomine..."

"And he... he gave it to you?"

"Yes..."

After a second of silence John placed the ball back to its rightful place on the table and sat on the armchair next to the couch,

"I can't believe this. He gave you the Championship Game Ball. Well, I guess that kind of makes this the most expensive gift you've got. God knows how much it will make in a decade or so for collectors..."

"It is not about the money!"

"What is it about then?"

"It is about what this ball means to him. What it meant to his coach. Look, it is a long and rather personal story for Aomine and I don't feel comfortable sharing all the details with you... I... I don't know all the details either. Let me just put it this way: Aomine felt that this ball symbolised being a true ace."

John sighed,

"Why give it to you then? Why not keep it?"

"It is about our past, about my times when I was playing... also his. And his current play... and how he wants to change it... Him giving this to me, it was a compliment. It was the greatest compliment I ever received."

"And he signed it because?"

"Oh, that was probably just him being a cheeky cocky little brat. Partly to cover up his own bashfulness at giving a gift with such sentimental value."

They both stared at the ball but a few moments later John abruptly stood up, "I'll go out for a smoke..." he said.

John luckily never opened the matter of the basketball again and the next day when they decided to finally play one-on-one, it was John who grabbed one of Kise's basketballs from the bedroom... Kise was honestly happy about it because for some reason he felt absolutely against playing one-on-one with anybody using that ball, except Aomine.

The next few days was mostly fun for Kise and he regularly sent messages to Aomine, always random questions regarding the places Aomine was visiting:

" _How is the weather in London?_ "

" _I hope you didn't forget buying me a mini Eiffel Tower replica from Paris._ "

" _What did you eat last night?_ "

" _I bought myself a new t-shirt! Look at the picture, ain't I the cutest?!_ "

" _I once spent two weeks in Milan and then Rome but never had the chance to eat some real pizza as I was on a diet!_ "

" _What time is it there now?_ "

Aomine looked and read each one of them as soon as he received them regardless of where he was and what he was doing, but he chose to reply to only some of them and most of those replies contained answers along the lines of "Kise, you are annoying." Kise then would send a flurry of messages full of various emoticons and Aomine wondered just how many emoticons all those weird apps Kise had on his phone supported in total.

The frequency of Kise's messages increased exponentially after John left the town for a couple of back-to-back flights that would not allow him to be back for a few days. During this time only person Kise played basketball with, not counting the children, was Aisha and though she was a good opponent she was obviously nowhere near Aomine. He had quite a bit of free time on his hands and finding nothing to do he just sent more and more messages to Aomine.

"No Kise, I am not sending you a picture of what I am seeing from outside my window."

"I knew it! Aominecchi, you are in the red light district, aren't you? And you are ashamed to show me all the indecent neon lights running across the street."

" _WTF KISE, just wtf_ " was Aomine's response and a second later Kise received a picture; it was the blue hour right after the sunset and apparently Aomine's hotel in Amsterdam faced a lovely canal, stone bridge running across it delightfully alight with decorative lights, old buildings of the city almost fading into the azure shadow... It was beautiful. " _Very romantic_ " Kise thought and that was probably why Aomine was too shy to send it initially.

"It is beautiful!" Kise sent – with a ton of emoticons of hearts and various smiles, then sent another one,

"And you are such a tsundere."

Aomine decided not to bother with a reply but did stay there at the window pane with his phone, watching the view.

Kise was absolutely bored and felt Aomine's absence strongly. It was different from when Aomine had avoided seeing him; knowing that somebody is distancing themselves from you gives you a different kind of loneliness than knowing that somebody does not want to distance themselves from you but distance finds a way to get in between... It is sweeter and at the same time more painful. Now that the basketball season was over, media did not pay the same attention to Aomine either and suddenly compared to just a few weeks ago it felt as though Aomine had never been here in this city, as though that they had never visited the numerous streetball courts scattered around the city, as though that they had never eaten some of the most delicious ramen they ever ate in this continent in that shabby old shop... It felt as though the city and the whole country had forgotten about Aomine except Kise and this gave a strange kind of pleasure (of being the only one who knows this particular miracle called Aomine Daiki) and also of great sadness and loneliness. Absence of John did not help either and Kise started spending all his time outside work at home watching sappy old romantic comedies.

When John finally returned, Kise thought that it would be a blast and he would be able to get out of this slump that he was struggling with. However, John apparently had some extra work in the headquarters of the airline he worked for so they were not able to spend any time together. Though feeling a little abandoned and lonely at all sides, Kise did not express it to either of the parties. His number of texts to Aomine slightly decreased and instead the number of them Aomine replied increased. Aomine also started sending messages by himself now, of often basketball related stuff,

"Kise, check this stadium out! Awesome isn't it? They got to build one like this in Japan!"

Kise thought that nobody else would hear Aomine innocently claim his wonder like this and felt a little special that the aloof player chose him to expose his never changing dorky side.

When John finally had some free time, they arranged a date. Kise was slightly intrigued at the seriousness of John's tone when he invited Kise out for dinner but thought that he was overthinking things. Kise had chosen the place: the sushi bar he had first visited with Aomine. He thought that the place was indeed good for a date.

It was around the end of their meals when John suddenly said, "I want to talk with you."

Kise had been watching the colourful lights of the city outside the large glass wall of the restaurant and had lost himself in thoughts a bit so he was a little surprised hearing John's words,

"Sure?"

"I am not sure if we should be together."

"Oh..." was the sole thing Kise could utter. He was not sure he heard or understood it correctly though,

"Are you suggesting that perhaps we should separate?"

"Perhaps..."

"So you are not sure?"

"I am not... I want to discuss it with you."

"Okay, let's discuss, what is it that you are not satisfied about?"

"It is not that I am not satisfied per se. I really like you. Even though we started dating casually, I fell for you so deep so fast because you are amazing. But because you are so amazing one cannot help but want more from a relationship with you."

"I've been trying my best."

"I know... You are very thoughtful and caring. But I just don't know where we are going any more. I know this is a selfish thing to say but you are not out while I am. My friends and family know my sexuality but it is not like that for you. You keep talking about your friends back home in Japan, but you would never introduce me to them as your boyfriend, would you?"

"You knew I was not out when we first started dating. It is not an easy decision to make, you must understand that better than most. And it is not necessarily because of--"

"Look Ryouta, I feel insecure."

"What? Why?"

"All this... Not knowing where we are going, not being able to openly be with you. And then there is Aomine..."

"Aomine? What about him?"

"His very existence is intimidating. Most people do not hang out with the idols they adore every single week. But you get to do that and you never get tired of it. If I felt secure and confident about our relationship I probably wouldn't care about Aomine but it is not like that either, is it? And I cannot even share my worries with you because you would think I am possessive!"

"You know why I am especially sensitive towards possessiveness... It is not easy but I never thought you are possessive in a disturbing way and I wouldn't think so either if you shared your worries with me..."

"Do you think it is easy to admit my worries? Especially towards Aomine? And as I said, it is much more than Aomine but he just exacerbates this."

"Look if we can just talk about our worries and concerns... if we communicate--"

"Will you commit yourself more to me if we communicate? Will you able to be open about your sexuality? You don't get what I am even talking about, do you? You are so young..."

The composed and gentle smile on Kise's face faded away and he leaned a little backwards to his chair, he snickered coldly before he started speaking,

"You know if somebody listened to this conversation they would think that you are a mature man tired of chasing the capricious young lover who is a conformist egoist. But the truth is that the little line you uttered, even though you said it only out of politeness, was perhaps the only truthful thing you said: 'you are selfish'."

"What?"

" _You_ feel insecure? Are you kidding me?" Kise chuckled and continued with a sharp tone,

"Think about me. You know how the only long-term relationship I had with another man lasted. It was not  _pretty_  to say the least. I am inexperienced in relationships. I am living abroad, away from my family and friends. I am much younger than you, I don't have a well respected career like yours nor do I earn anywhere near what you earn. I am intimidated by you. I feel insecure towards you. And me not being out? Our first date was in a gay bar, I have friends who knows about us, including Aomine – it is not like I am hiding my sexuality much over here to be honest, yet you are not satisfied with this. Okay, but what makes you think that I am satisfied with you not introducing me to any friends of yours? Why do we always spend time in my house, but never go to yours? You want more and more space and comfort and security within my life for yourself and that is a wish I can understand, I can empathise, but you never even try to do the same for me. You want me to make a huge decision about my life just to appease your insecurities, you want me to _commit myself to you_? What about you? Did you ever even think about _committing yourself to me_? But Aomine is a great excuse isn't it? He is indeed intimidating. He is also the sole person I have here whom I can rely on. My only true friend here. If I was left homeless tomorrow, the first person I would go to. I have only Aomine and you are intimidated by it but you never think that I could ever be intimidated with all the things you have!"

After an initial surprise John almost mumbled,

"You sure are bitter in reality..."

"I honestly don't like confrontations and arguments so I stay away from them. But it does not mean that I will not defend myself when needed. I just have my own way of doing it."

Kise turned his gaze back towards the glass wall of the sushi bar again and continued watching the city lights, he giggled then like a child who had done something silly,

"You know... I first came to this sushi bar with Aomine. For some reason neither of us liked it. But I thought it would be a good place for a date."

This became the last thing he ever said to John, as his now ex-boyfriend left the table silently, Kise did not utter a single thing, nor did he move his eyes away from the glass wall...

Kise spent the next two days lying on the couch doing absolutely nothing. Around the noon of the second day, he heard the buzzing of his vibrating phone, which was sitting atop the kitchen counter for an unfathomable reason. After some hesitation on whether he really, really wanted to check just why the heck was it buzzing or to simply continue lying on the couch like a corpse, he decided that it could be something important and work related and got himself to get up... It was the best decision he made that whole week. The culprit of the vibrations were apparently two messages from Aomine Daiki, first said,

"Me and my own personal Murasakibara Army!", and included a picture of him standing in the middle surrounded by players of all over 2 meters high. They were apparently players from the Russian National Basketball team, Aomine had gotten an invitation to one of their practices, and this year's Russian team was the tallest according to the media. Aomine looked rather small and the contrast of his skin colour with all the white players made him truly the focus of the picture. He was smiling big and a little playfully, his arms crossed, " _he was probably trying to look boss-like in an ironic way_ " Kise thought as he started giggling uncontrollably; it really looked funny and it indeed looked as though it was an army of Murasakibara's, if only they had purple hair, it would be perfect. Then he opened the second message, it was a single line:

"(you there?)"

His giggling faded away, he closed his eyes for a second to regain some composure, when he opened his eyes he quickly called Aomine and his call was received in the second ring, again,

"Oi..." Noise like that in a restaurant could be heard from the background, Aomine was probably having dinner somewhere,

"Oh... it is evening over there right. Damn. I forgot it. I'll call you later."

"Nah, no problem... I was having dinner with my manager but I was actually very bored so yeah you saved me. What's up?"

"Ah... um..."

"Oh you must be calling because you saw the Murasakibara picture right? Isn't it awesome?"

"It is! Now if they just had purple hair!"

"Right! I know! That's what I thought."

"Yeah... it was pretty funny... I laughed a lot actually."

"Yeah..."

"Yeah..."

"Kise?"

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You didn't send me any annoying texts for almost two days now."

"Oh..."

"Not that I was waiting for them or anything you know... They are so goddamn annoying. But I mean when you are not spending time irritating people, it must mean something bad happened to you."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. So... Did something bad happen to you?"

"Not really."

"Okay..."

They stayed silent for a second, each unsure how to move the conversation forward... Or let it stay where it was, perhaps?

"Aominecchi..."

"Yes?"

Kise wanted to say something but could not find the right words, complaining about his love life to Aomine would be too cruel to him,

"Nothing..."

Another second of silence passed by and then Aomine silently mumbled,

"You know... I will come back soon."

"I know..."

"And we will play one-on-one."

"Right."

"And I think it might be a good idea to try out some Russian food... I think it is interesting. You may like it."

"Okay."

"And then we can maybe go to karaoke? I haven't gone to karaoke in such a long time... It could be cool I'm thinking..."

Kise smiled as he listened Aomine list various activities, half of which would normally never interest Aomine and Kise would have to beg and bawl his eyes out to even get Aomine to try.

Listening to Aomine's low but soft voice, which was a rare thing to hear in itself, he felt calmer, he felt more confident, and most importantly he felt the loneliness that had been smothering him fade away into nothingness; he was thankful but he thought saying "thank you" now would upset the mood, so he instead continued to stay silent and mumble reluctant responses as Aomine made more and more promises and proposals...

" _Being spoiled by Aominecchi is not so bad_ ", he thought.

 


	13. Chapter 13

"Takao, stop sticking to me."

"Aw, Shin-chan, you are the biggest tsundere ever."

"Stop hugging me. And no, no! Don't kiss me. You cannot kiss me. Stop. I hate it when you are drunk."

"Takao-kun has turned into the kissing monster again!" giggled Momoi, watching the hilarious interactions of Midorima and a drunk Takao, which was really a staple of their all-out nights: the whole "rainbow troupe", as she liked the call them fondly, would go out to drink almost always with two notable additions: Takao and Kagami.

"Oh my lady, you want a kiss? I am more than ready to--" Takao could not finish his sentence as he received a rather strong elbow from Midorima,

"I cannot believe you! You are a disgrace. Go to the washroom and wash your face please!"

As Takao got up to go to washroom, mumbling curses at Midorima, Aomine's phone started vibrating, he took it out under the table and for a second couldn't decide whether to receive the call or not; it was from Kise and considering the timing it must have been pretty early in the States, why was he calling?

"Oh my Aomine-kun, what are you doing with your phone under the table like that? Looking at it so intensely too!"

"Mind your own business Takao, weren't you going to the washroom?"

"But I am so curious now, I can't go! You were looking so intensely too! Was it a message from a girlfriend or something?"

Momoi almost spat out her drink, "He doesn't have a girlfriend! Who would go out with a rude, awful man like him?!" she nudged playfully and chuckled. The phone was still vibrating and just as Aomine was about to turn it off Takao tried to grab it, Aomine skilfully took it to his other hand and blocked Takao's steal,

"Takao, you bastard leave me alone!"

"Oh My God, guys, is he blushing or is it just me! I need to see that phone!"

"Just shut up!"

"Oh it's Kise-kun." Kuroko said, silently and seriously; he was a little tipsy but for some reason he would grow even quieter and lose even the tiny bit of presence he has whenever he drank. Aomine had not realised him steal his phone while he was arguing with Takao.

"I cannot believe you guys! What are you doing?! Give me back my phone."

"It's Ki-chan?!" Momoi jumped forward, which meant that she almost leapt onto Aomine who by now was very much irritated, and grabbed the phone from Kuroko.

"It really is Ki-chan! Oops, I pressed the green thing..."

"Aominecchi? Why did you pick it up so late?"

"Kiii-chaaaaan!"

Aomine thought that tipsy Momoi was the worst kind of Momoi, add to that Kuroko as well, who reached for the phone in Momoi's hand to turn on the speakerphone,

"Hey hey what's going on? Momocchi, is that you?"

"Yes!"

Aomine simply put his palm over his face in complete defeat as Momoi, still partially on his lap in the weirdest position, cheered louder:

"I missed you so much Ki-chan!"

"I missed you too Momocchi! But what are you doing with Aominecchi's phone?"

"We are all out partying Kise!" Takao jumped in, sticking his head out towards the phone from right above Aomine's shoulder, and Aomine asked himself just why, " _why did I come drinking with them?!_ "

"Oh My God! You guys are partying without me! That is so unfair!" Kise made mock sobbing noises,

"We are not partying. We simply went out for casual drinks as a get together for the occasion of Aomine's visit. That is all. And Takao, go wash your face. Stop sticking to Aomine, you are disturbing him."

"Midorimacchi, you're there too!"

"I said we are  _all_  partying Kise! The whole gang is here!"

"Takao, go wash your face. And don't call us a 'gang', it sounds ugly and suspicious. And yes Kise, I am present as well."

"Uuuuh, I want to talk to Kise-chin too!" Murasakibara whined and reached out his hand to grab the phone across the table when a delicate and smaller pair of hands in great contrast to his own slapped them and picked up the phone from Momoi's grasp,

"Kazunari, go to washroom, Shintarou is right, you are very drunk. Satsuki, please sit properly, you are disturbing Daiki and it is unsightly too. Tetsuya, wake Taiga up, he is drooling and he may want to say hi to Ryouta as well. And Atsushi, wait for your turn."

Takao and Momoi rolled their eyes as they followed the orders given to them while Murasakibara simply pouted, Aomine and Midorima gave a sigh of relief almost at the same time and Kuroko started shaking Kagami to wake him up though it seemed not to be effective enough.

"Hello Ryouta, how are you?"

"Um, I am fine Akashicci. How, everyone was so noisy and now it is all quite. You are like a scary general."

"I do not mind the 'general' title though I have never found myself to be scary. I can induce fear surely, but 'scary' is way too crude. Are you sure you are fine by the way? I have realised that you have lost quite some weight in the last few months..."

"Ah Akashicci. You are just too observant! Yes, I did lose some weight but I am good. It just took some time to get used to the food here and I have been really busy in the last months so..."

"Just how the heck did you realise he lost weight?!" Aomine asked with a rather loud tone and a shocked face,

"Don't be rude Daiki, lower your tone. And I follow Ryouta's tumblr blog and twitter. He likes taking selfies."

Even Kise grew silent at that comment, he had not expected that as an answer, a second later he started laughing,

"Akashicchi, you are the best."

"I believe I am", Akashi said smiling,

"Atsushi wanted to tell you something, by the way, Atsushi – take the phone please, take care Ryouta."

"Thank you sir! Yes, Murasakicchi?"

"Hey Kise-chin, did you like the sweets I sent you the last time? I really liked the 'Big Turk's you sent me. Can you send some more of those?"

"Oh they were delicious. And sure, sure I'll send more."

Murasakibara was about to say something else when the same delicate hands took the phone from him despite his pouting,

"You can talk to Ryouta on your own phone later, now, I believe he was originally calling Daiki." Akashi said to Murasakibara, with a tone that sounded like a parent trying to teach manners to their spoiled little children, as he offered the phone back to Aomine, who by this point was just extremely frustrated, annoyance written all over his face. Upon receiving the phone Aomine quickly stood up and left the small private booth where they had been drinking and went outside the bar as well to just get away as much as possible,

"Oh he ran away." Kuroko said behind Aomine as he shook Kagami one more time to no avail. Akashi sighed, "it is enough Tetsuya, we will have to let him sleep, his alcohol tolerance is so terrible it defies even my expectations."

"Hello? Hello? I can't hear you guys now!"

"Yeah, you can't hear them because I turned off the speakerphone and also got away..."

"Aw... Why?"

"Huh?"

"We were talking! It was nice."

"Oh, so you want to talk with them? Why did you call me to begin with if you did not want to talk with me. You wanna talk to them so much just call Satsuki's phone or Tetsu's or something..."

"Wow, Aominecchi, are you being jealous or am I just having a weird dream?" Kise started laughing and Aomine blushed a little, leaning his back to the wall outside the little old bar,

"God you are irritating..."

"Yeah... I guess I am..." Kise's laughter started to mix with sobbing, creating a strange sound that caught Aomine completely in surprise,

"Wait... Are you crying?"

"No I am not... Well, I don't know maybe..."

"Are you for real? God, fine, if you want to talk with them so much I am going back in..."

"No no, it is not about that..."

"What is it about then? I mean you cry a lot just to annoy the hell out of us but you are literally sobbing..."

"I know..."

"What's wrong?"

"It's just... I don't know. You are there. They are there. And I... I am here. Alone."

Even though Kise had not intended, this did make Aomine feel a little guilty, though truthfully there was no reason to feel guilty at all,

"I'll come back..."

"I know..."

"You should have visited Japan this summer too..."

"I know..." Kise's sobs started to die down slowly though he was sniffing silently,

"Hmm... Maybe we'll invite the guys over for All-Stars or something this season."

"We can?"

"Why not?"

"That would be great! I could take Momocchi out for shopping in SoHo, oh and take Murasakicchi to taste cronuts! Hmm I wonder where to take Midorimacchi..."

"Wow, I guess I have no place in your plans huh?"

"What are you talking about? All of us have to go to the Cage! You're indispensable for the basketball matches..."

"So I am only good for basketball?"

"Well, when you put it that way... But hey, you are very, very good for basketball. So, isn't that good enough?"

"You are awful..."

"No I am not" Kise chuckled,

"And you are laughing... Just like that... You were sobbing a moment ago."

"You want me to cry again? So mean, Aominecchi..."

"No, I don't."

"Then I won't."

"Good."

As a short silence grew with both not knowing what to talk about, Aomine thought that Kise was very much like early days of summer; sudden and brief showers with sunny spells, deliciously sentimental, alluringly capricious, stunningly whimsical... Kise broke the silence with questions about how everyone was doing and they started talking about their friends and then certain mundane things about the entertainment world of Japan, by the time Aomine hung up it had been over 15 minutes and when he returned back to the booth with his friends, he was happy to find most of them even more hammered, none made any comment on why he had talked so long with Kise.

"It's interesting that you agreed me to take you home, I thought you would stick to Tetsu..." Aomine commented as he walked Momoi home, she lived close by but it was still past midnight. Momoi giggled, she was very tipsy,

"Nah, well, of course I would much prefer Tetsu-kun to take me home but you know being the gentleman he is, he usually drinks much less than he did tonight and is the one to take me home, I already told him tonight that I'd get you to take me home... So he could enjoy the night to his heart's content. Plus, you are so rarely around these days, it's good to make you work!"

"Is that so?" Aomine snickered...

"Dai-chan..."

"Hm?"

"I am glad you are close with Ki-chan. When I left America after the first year, I worried that you wouldn't be able to deal with it all alone... It seems you guys support each other. That is good."

"You are talking like a mother again..."

"A thoughtful younger sister who is wise beyond her age would suit me more."

Aomine was not planning to ask it initially but somehow it slipped off his mouth upon Momoi's comments,

"Why didn't you tell me when Kise first moved to the States?"

"Ah..."

"Don't 'ah' me, there was a reason right?"

"Um... You know his knee and plus your transfer was not very smooth either so I guess I thought maybe it was better to leave that decision to him, let him approach you when he felt like it."

Momoi was not sure what to say more and begged to God that Aomine would stop pressing her on it, and seeing Aomine not utter any response for the last couple of moments assured Momoi that indeed, she would not be interrogated on this, the least she expected was the sudden revelation though,

"You know... I like him."

"Huh?"

"I like him."

"Ki... Ki-chan? You... You 'like' Ki-chan?"

She nervously giggled and continued fast, "God Dai-chan... If somebody heard you they would think you mean it that wa--"

"That way. I mean it that way. I love him".

"What?!"

Aomine did not respond to Momoi's loud exclamation and kept his slow pace, walking while gazing into the night sky that was devoid of any stars like the skies of any large city these days,

"You... You are joking right?"

"No. I am serious."

"When? How? Wait, aren't you straight?"

"Uh... I thought I was. I guess I am bi. And I don't know when exactly, a couple of months I guess? It just happened. We grew too close perhaps. I don't know."

"Are you pulling a prank on me because if so, this is really not funny."

"Don't be a dumbass, I am not cruel to joke about something like this."

"You really love him?"

"Yes."

"Wow... Wow. I mean I must admit there were times I thought you two would make a nice couple but I never thought you could feel that way towards him... Wait... You... Do you know his... ah..."

"His orientation? I know you know. Yeah, I know he is gay."

"He told you?"

"Not really... Some dude he was casually dating stalked him one night and seeing us together caused a scene... It was ugly."

"That sucks. It must have been very hurtful for him... he wanted to tell you, you know. But I think he never dared. I mean... I am surprised you are taking this so easily too, actually..."

"Why not? I mean... Sure it was strange a little at the beginning as I was not well-informed. But I have never been a judgemental person."

"True I guess, you were never bigoted or biased... Just uninterested, very indifferent. To everything but basketball that is."

"I was interested in sex."

"Yeah, casual sex. God... I really don't like that about you. I never did. Now that I think about it, Ki-chan is probably your first real love huh?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Ah, so nice. How does it feel? To be in love? Are you planning to tell him?"

"I already told him. He rejected me."

"Wait what? You confessed to him?!"

"Yes."

"I can't believe you! How the hell all this happened and you did not tell me anything! And I can't believe Ki-chan either, we talk every single week and I always complain about my love life and he was not saying anything about his these past few months so I thought he was just not dating any more..."

"He hasn't been saying anything?"

"Well, no, nothing specific... Maybe you gave him a trauma or something, how did you confess anyway?"

"OK this will make you angrier then, I guess, but Kise actually has a boyfriend."

"What? I cannot believe you are dropping all these bombs on me..."

"Now that I think about it maybe I should not have said this... It's his private life after all. I wonder why he never told you."

"I mean, I remember the last he talked about his love life, he was planning to go on more dates with this older man named Jack or John or something, which was weird because he pretty much never goes to a date with the same person more than twice..."

"Yeah, it's him, John. He is going steady with him."

"Really? Wait... When did you confess to him?"

"Uh... Do I have to tell?"

"You told me this much and you are going to stop here? Don't you dare Aomine Daiki, I'll kill you. I'll butcher you in the middle of the street right now."

"Wow, you are such a kind soul."

"Tell. Me."

"Ah fine, whatever... I don't know really it all happened so fast, for me at least. After he started going steady with that guy the amount of time we spent together decreased considerably and it was a big shock and realisation for me... Though I guess that's pretty cliché. After I realised my own feelings I tried to keep away from him because I was afraid that he would realise my feelings and I also felt like crap whenever I saw him together with his boyfriend. But he wouldn't take it so he kept pestering me and pestering me and one night he came to my house and he made a big deal out of everything and forced me to confess just why I was avoiding him..."

"And you confessed? You revealed your feelings just like that?"

"Yeah."

"Are you an idiot?"

"God, Satsuki, what the hell was I supposed to do?! Plus it was not intentional, I really did not want to tell him... But he was so pushy. You won't believe how stubborn he can be. He is never that pushy with you. Ask Tetsu, he knows well."

"So he rejected you? Well, he was going out with someone..."

"He  _is_  going out with someone, not just  _was_. Anyway, yeah, he rejected me. Well at the time of confession he actually pretty much ran away in shock. He rejected me later when we reconciled. Our bond is just too strong to be broken by my own one-sided, selfish feelings."

"You should not say that... It is your first love and it is not selfish to like someone."

"It is in our case though; he has a boyfriend and I drop a bomb like that on him. And he has been gay all his life whereas I chased skirt all mine. He didn't even believe me at the beginning which is very much expected. I mean... It was a shock for him. Thank God he got used to it though. He even jokes with me about it sometimes."

"Really?"

"Yeah... He makes jokes and giggles and shit. I swear to God the bastad just loves driving me crazy."

Aomine almost mumbled the last few words and despite the harshness of the words he said it so affectionately and gently, and such a nice shade of pink had appeared on his cheeks that Momoi understood partially why Kise might have grown fond of teasing Aomine about his feelings. She sighed and locked her arm around Aomine's, they continued walking arm in arm,

"So we should plan something Dai-chan... A spectacular heist to steal the heart of your first love!"

Aomine laughed earnestly, "Nah, I am fine..."

"You sure?"

"Yeah... I mean, we are not kids. He made it very clear to me that he does not see me that way. He cannot see me that way. I am fine with it. I mean... I am obviously not happy about it. But I am his friend... It would not be nice to persuade him insistently and bother him. I wouldn't want to ruin his relationship either. And even if he was not going out with anybody, I wouldn't want to force him or pester him on it... It is a decision he should make and one cannot force feelings. I mean he is happy and I guess that's all that matters..."

"I think I am going to cry..."

"Huh? What? You too... God what is wrong with all you people tonight..."

"What do you mean me 'too'?"

"Ah... Forget it... Why do you want to cry?"

"Because you sounded like such a mature gentleman. I never really expected this from you."

"You underestimate me Satsuki."

"I guess I do. You know what? We should go out to drink! Drink away to mend your broken heart! Your lost first love!"

"Stop shouting and stop being so dramatic... You are drunk enough already and you are talking about drinking again... I am never going drinking with you."

"You don't mean that."

"Whatever... Hey, don't push me, we'll fall down."

Momoi stopped talking about the subject matter after that and they continued walking, she instead changed the topic to other things, such as how creepy it was that apparently Akashi was following them on all social networks each preferred using; Akashi said that he himself did not have personal social network accounts but liked following up with his friends.

Momoi never really mentioned the matter again during rest of Aomine's stay to the point that Aomine wondered if the conversation really took place. He would continue to be suspicious too if it wasn't for the little wink Momoi gave, right before he left for the airport, after mentioning that Aomine should say hi and hug Kise in her place. Yes, he had definitely told Momoi perhaps the most significant romantic experience he ever had, which now that he thought was quite sad and exposed how inexperienced he was when it came to actual love and dating than just having sex. Why had he told her? He was not sure. It just happened. Perhaps he had to tell someone, and " _who better than Satsuki_?" He knew she would act with the most understanding of him, it is not like he could share something like this with, say, Midorima. " _No, definitely not Midorima_."

As his plane took off, he felt an excitement... It was strange; there were two other times when he had felt excited while flying like this: the first was when he took off for the States, the beginning of his professional career, all the hopes and expectations, promise of a new land, new people, and new basketball... The second was his first visit back home after he had moved, a significant moment of returning home, returning to friends, finally an end to the yearning and homesickness though it would be short-lived... It was different this time though, it was not like either of those two moments and the anxiety each had flooded his heart with. This was a different kind of anxiety. And he knew the reason. It was very simple too:

He had missed Kise. A lot.

 


	14. Chapter 14

They met the next day after Aomine arrived and to be honest Aomine was very nervous about it at the beginning. Upon catching the sight of Kise in front of the pub they frequented before, the first thing Aomine realised was that Akashi was right: Kise had lost some weight. Not just in the last few months but apparently since he had left in late June too. How come had he not noticed it but Akashi had? It frustrated him a little.

Unlike Aomine's nervous frustrations, Kise was ecstatic and the first thing he did upon realising Aomine's figure was a full-frontal attack: a huge hug accompanied with "Oh My God Aominecchi! Did you gain weight?! Did you grow your hair out?! It looks so cute!"

"Argh Kise stop hugging me, people are looking... Come on let's get in." Aomine grumbled as he pulled Kise in.

Kise's spirits were high and perhaps due to this, or perhaps due to the glass of wine he had gulped down rather fast, Aomine soon felt at ease as he listened to Kise talk... Listening to Kise could sometimes be very irritating or just dull but often, Aomine admitted, it was very entertaining. His face would don a hundred different expressions, each exaggerated, his hand would keep moving in strange gestures, and he changed his posture as he jumped from one topic to another, and he was mercurial: you could never expect what could come up to his mind next and he could blurt something that you thought would never be a topic of interest. Though after years Aomine had grown used to his antics and could anticipate his moves outside the court pretty well, as well, he was still caught unguarded at strange things Kise would talk about or just how Kise changed the topics of conversation so fast and frankly Aomine liked being surprised like this; Kise was always changing and it was like flying above as the scenery below continuously changed.

"Oi, Aominecchi are you listening to me?"

"Huh? Ah sorry... I was just..." he had fallen deep in thoughts listening to Kise's voice, observing his gestures that he had actually stopped responding him.

"How mean, and here I am talking about the amazing news of these cutest little newborn pandas. Little chubby fluffy balls of pure cuteness and magic."

Aomine chuckled as Kise pouted but talking about "chubby fluffy balls" reminded him,

"You really lost weight huh?"

"Huh? Where did that come from?"

"Says the guy who literally jumped from talking about Italian politics to newborn pandas in the local zoo... When you called them 'chubby' I just remembered but like it is obvious, you lost weight."

"Just a bit. Nothing serious really..."

"Hmm... 'kay. I still find it very freaky Akashi realised it though."

"Ah but he has always been observant. And a little protective. Though I see what you mean, it was unexpected too, so it might have sounded a bit creepy."

"Protective? Well I don't know, maybe on court. But outside? Nah..."

"I think he likes us in his own way and regards us as friends and he is used to be 'the leader', 'the protector'... so he is protective. He has always acted a little like a father."

"Now that is a very disturbing thought and are you sure he regards us as friends? I mean... acquaintances definitely. Teammates, sure. Mates? Perhaps. But 'friendship'?"

"You know I've come to believe that basketball is his own little world in a life where everything else is decided for him; everyone regards him as some powerful heir but on court... We regarded and respected him not because he was a powerful heir but because he was our teammate. He led us. And I think that means a lot to him. Surely, he shows his affection differently, but isn't that true for all of us? The way I show my affection is much different than yours, Midorimacchi's is even more different..."

"I understand what you mean and you may have a point but I guess I never really thought of him as a friend... We were never close either. He was closer with Midorima and Murasakibara. I didn't know he was so attentive towards you."

"I... I've been good with him. Oh wait, are you perhaps jealous?"

"Don't be an idiot" Aomine grumbled and Kise giggled,

"Just kidding... But I know for a fact that he is really protective and he is a good friend. He just shows it and deals with it differently."

Aomine did not say anything as he thought that the Akashi Kise pictured, though completely plausible, still seemed rather improbable to him, he was about to say that when Kise started talking again with a tone that seemed a bit bitter and a whole lot different than before,

"You know... When I was in second year of university, I was especially bothered because of my sexuality. Then one day when we were out drinking with a couple of friends from our year and the next one, this third year who I had seen around the campus sat close to me and, out of blue, whispered to my ear: 'do you rather like men?' I was so shocked, I could not know what to say or do, my whole face was in flames, then he leaned towards me again and said 'I swing that way too'. He smiled then."

Kise gulped half of his glass down and continued,

"I thought... wow. Here was a real gay man. He was not out either but unlike me he would go to nichoume and stuff, hang out in gay bars you know. I never could as I was afraid that somebody would know my face from my modelling work. We started becoming friends, he would tell me stories of love affairs he had, he would tell me of different bars he visited, different people he had met... It was so alluring. Something I had only imagined before. Here was a person who understood and felt like me. With whom I could openly discuss things... private things. It was nice. Then as I grew closer to him, I felt I liked him, so when after a few months he asked me out I was ecstatic."

Kise gulped rest of his glass and asked for a refill quickly,

"It was perfect. I finally had a lover. It was like a dream come true for a person who had to deal with sexual frustrations and unwanted attention from women all his life. I had listened to others' love lives for so long, it was refreshing to have one of my own. It was nice. But I was inexperienced; I had never been in a relationship... I took him as my mentor. I did not question him when he told me that I was just showing too much skinship with my male friends at campus. I immediately stopped. Then he thought it was risky and strange that I went out with my male friends at nights and stuff or alone, now that I was his lover, so I stopped that too. Then he said, I was spending too much time with my female friends, going to shopping or to cinema. I stopped that too though I was confused, I tried to explain to him that it was just girl friends... He said I did not understand him. That I was just too good looking, that I was ignorant of ways in which I could be abused, used. He soon regarded anybody other than himself as people who were waiting in line to attack me. It was confusing. It felt absurd but I just followed it because I really liked him and I thought that perhaps this was what love required. I blamed myself that maybe I didn't love him as much since I didn't have similar sensitivities. Soon he didn't want me to play one-on-one's with Kagamicchi or Kurokocchi either, I argued but... I ended up agreeing anyway when he threatened to leave me."

Kise paused for a few seconds and gazed to his refilled glass,

"I liked him. I did not want him to leave me... My knee was bad anyway. He said it was childish that I was still so much into basketball. That I should focus on other things. Focus on university. He said my modelling work was stupid, it would be short-lived; I would grow old and ugly and it would fly away. He said I needed to do real work. He started calling me every hour to check up on me, where am I, who am I with... I grew constipated but I endured it. It became such that I would not leave my house for anything but university or work appointments... Soon we started arguing about everything, especially my modelling work. Then one day, I had to go for a photoshoot for a line of jeans of a big name brand, it was an important job, and we would be wearing jeans and nothing else... learning this he just lost it. He forbade me to go and I said, 'screw this'. I had to go, it was big for my career. He said I had no career. He said that I was a whore to do a job like that, and that I was being unfaithful to him, and that I was a stupid man with just a pretty face and body... We fought. At one point, I moved towards the door, ready to leave, and he pulled me back, and he slapped me so hard I lost my balance, I fell... Then I felt his hands around my neck. I will never forget that day nor those moments, and especially that feeling of his hands around my neck, tightening strongly... It was terrible. I had not expected it at all, he had never been violent. He strangled me. You know, I was taller and stronger than him... People talk so easily about these kind of things, they say that you just have to attack the other person, as if it is the victim who is to blame for the assault. But... but Aominecchi, they are so full of shit, you never know how it is, you cannot imagine what it is like..."

Kise's voice was strained though crisp, he did not hesitate, or cry, or sob, he continued with same clarity after a pause,

"Realising that you may die. That you are dying. That somebody is killing you. It is not something one can anticipate. Plan for. I froze. I couldn't move a single finger. As cliché as it may sound I saw my life flash in front of my eyes... I am not sure if I fought against him, perhaps I did, soon my mind went numb and hazy due to lack of air, I lost consciousness, and I thought 'this is it'. But when I opened my eyes, I was not in heaven or hell, I was still in my room. Alone. He had left. I found a note on the door, it said: 'Do not go out. Do not tell about this to anyone. Or else, I will show the whole world what kind of a homo manwhore you are.'

I slept for hours, I was not sure what to do, I was scared, coming face to face with death does that to a person, my mind was still hazy, I was not sure what to do... When I dared to look at a mirror, I felt worse; there was a huge red mark on my face, clearly of a hand. My neck... my neck was bruised terribly, one looking closely could see marks of fingers. I spent the whole day sleeping, he did not come. Maybe I should have just fled but I... I was scared. What if he told others? What if he tried to kill me again? I hate the idea of violence, what was it going to take to stop this, this whole thing, this whole fear, would... would I need to kill him? This scared me more; I could not kill him. I could not even kill an insect, forget killing a human... I... I am not like that."

He finally took his glass but instead of quickly gulping like before he took a few small sips,

"Apparently my manager had panicked after my absence. He called my mom. Nobody could reach me and I could not find my phone, he had probably taken it. My mother called Momocchi, since she knew her and liked her and Momocchi lived not so far away from me, unlike my parents who were in Osaka at that time. So Momocchi called Kurokocchi and Akashicchi too, all unknown to me, and by noon the second day of my horrid state, they knock on my door. I first thought it was him and I was so scared, then Kurokocchi told that it was them, I did not want to open the door but they begged... I wore a turtleneck, thinking that I could avoid exposing the horror to them but how stupid I was, my face still had the red mark of his slap... They didn't say much, Kurokocchi took my hand and talked with me while Momocchi and Akashicchi stayed outside. He said that he knew I was gay, Akashicchi too, since middle school. It was not Momocchi who told them, they had realised it but preferred to keep hush till I decided to tell them. He said he had realised my relationship with my senpai right away but kept silent too, respected my privacy. But he said... he said that this was not 'love'. This was not a 'relationship' of 'love'. This was abuse. That nobody would hurt their beloved. And I knew. I knew it very well at that point. He asked if he could roll down the neck of my sweater, I nodded, when he saw my neck... he cried."

Kise paused and chuckled bitterly, sadly,

"I... I had never seen Kurokocchi cry for anything but basketball like that I think... I had never seen him cry like that for me. And I, Kise Ryouta who is famous for crying and laughing so easily, I froze, I could not shed a single tear. So instead of me, Kurokocchi just hugged me and cried. I think he had thought that I was being locked inside house or something but never actually expected to see marks of strangulation. I could see that he was terrified. He asked me to let him help me and I just nodded. When we went out, he told Momocchi to pack a bag for me but I refused, I didn't want anything that could have that man's smell or touch on it... I only took my wallet. Akashicchi drove us to his house, he gave me a new mobile phone, I talked with my mother... The first night, Momocchi and Kurokocchi stayed with us too. We did not talk about the event, instead Akashicchi treated the whole matter like a friendly get-together at his house. I could feel that Momocchi, who stayed more or less silent throughout the whole ordeal was the one who was shaken the most, but she still tried her best to smile, act normal. The next day others left but I continued staying there, a few days later Akashicchi told me that he would like me to stay more but that I should know that 'the problem' was resolved. I panicked a little, he laughed and patted my shoulder, he said 'don't worry, we did not hurt him physically, he is fine, I know you don't like violence'. I stayed there for three more weeks... Akashicchi is so silent, meticulous, and serious. Yet subtly thoughtful and helpful. He was so busy but he would take me to play basketball with him every two days or so. Others came to visit so frequently. I later rented a room in the building Kagamicchi and Kurokocchi were sharing a room in, I thanked Akashicchi wholeheartedly before I left... He looked at me with these shocked eyes, his face completely surprised, he laughed and he said, 'Ryouta, you are my friend. You don't have to thank me...'"

Kise gulped down almost all of his glass in one shot, sighed deeply, donned a smile – the smile Aomine knew very well, the one he would don when he really did not want to smile but did not want to frown either and thus would just smile anyway – and asked,

"So you see... Akashicchi is a good friend! And I never even saw senpai again at campus, they said he moved to another city and dropped out of the university. I never looked more into it though, I was happy it was over."

Aomine was shaken, he could not say anything... realising this Kise continued,

"Oh, I guess now you also know why I get irritated easily with possessive people or why I preferred casually dating people than having a relationship... What disturbs me is not the possessiveness or jealousy one feels towards another person they love, but the selfish, abusive, offensive way of acting out that possessiveness or jealousy. That I cannot stand. That... I think is not love. It is not wanting to love and be with another person, it is the desire to own them. It is egoistic and sadistic. "

Aomine played with his own glass, he felt so much like drinking more but he had been keeping up with his _no-more-than-two-glasses_ new year's resolution well till up to now and did not want to ruin it. Though, thinking it over, he said " _fuck it"_  inside, and asked for another glass – this time something stronger.

"I cannot believe this..."

"I know... such a sad little story right? One would not expect from--"

"Don't say that! I cannot believe that... You went through something like that. You... and... and here I am criticising Akashi on how 'friendly' he is and he actually helps you in your hardest moment and where was I then? Probably screwing some girl at a bar in LA. I suck as a friend. I... I don't know what to say other than that... I..."

"You don't have to say anything. And why the hell are you blaming yourself? You did not know because I did not tell you. Plus, you had your own worries, you were not even in Japan, you had just taken a huge leap forward in your career. I am glad it was the year Momocchi had returned though... She and others helped me a lot."

"I would expect Satsuki and Tetsuya but knowing that I fare less than Akashi... it just frustrates me. And I am frustrated that I am saying this shit, you just told me... that... and I am worrying about myself shit, I suck."

Kise giggled though it sounded much more tired than cheerful and patted Aomine's shoulder,

"You are not worrying about yourself but about how you think you failed me – and that's only your stupid thinking, you did not fail me. Never. And yeah, don't underestimate Akashi. He is pretty cool."

"Are you kidding me? I am going to take him out to dinner next time we meet. He is the greatest."

Kise chuckled and leaned his body slightly towards Aomine, resting his head on Aomine's shoulder,

"You are funny... I like your protectiveness though. I know you would help if you were in town and knew about it. Well... you would probably just go and beat the guy up _very_ bad though, so perhaps it was for the better you were not around."

"Don't say that..."

"Sorry."

They stayed silent for a few seconds as Aomine slowly drank the new drink that was placed before him and Kise seemed to be gazing somewhere far away, then he spoke, almost mumbled,

"John dumped me."

"What?!" Aomine coughed up harshly as he choke on his drink a little,

"Oh My God... Aominecchi are you okay?" Kise was worried and patted Aomine's back,

"Hey! Can we get some water?"

Aomine felt a bit better after drinking from the water placed in front of him and finally could breath easily, and the first thing he did as he breathed easier, was to loudly exclaim,

"Who the heck he thinks he is?! How can he dump you?! He cannot dump you! You dump him!"

"Huh? What... what do you mean?"

"He is an old, loser of a man. He even has a child and you are so young! He cannot even play basketball well! Yet you still chose him because you are just too damn kind. And what, he just goes and leaves you? He cannot do that! That idiot! What does he think, that he could find someone better than you? Fuck that, I hope he dies alone in a corner."

"God... Aominecchi... calm down. Wow. And don't say such cruel things... and just... wow. You... you... you are awesome!"

Kise started laughing so uncontrollably that he had to hold on to Aomine's shoulder not to fall from the bar stool he was sitting on, Aomine on the other hand was puzzled,

"What do you mean? Oi! Why are you laughing?"

"Because... because... ahaha, God I can't believe this..."

"Oi! Stop laughing you... Aren't you supposed to be sad or something? I thought you liked the guy!"

"Well, I indeed liked him but he actually dumped me like weeks ago, so I already spent many days being depressed about it... Don't worry." Kise couldn't hold his laughter and continued laughing,

"You are such an idiot... Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know... I was not sure how you would react. I thought that you would maybe make a nasty comment about how I should have chosen you or perhaps that you would hit on me or something, since now I am single... And yet... you... you actually got super mad on my accord and I just lost it I guess. I can't believe you care about me this much... You are just too sweet."

Aomine sighed and gulped rest of his drink down,

"I am not sweet, don't call me sweet. Of course... I... I will care. And of course I got mad, because I... I care. And the fact that you are single does not mean you will automatically go out with me. You already made it clear that you want to be friends with me, not lovers, and I am not going to pester you or stalk you. I am not a pushy jerk. A ' _no_ ' is a ' _no_ ', I get it."

Kise stopped laughing and instead put his elbow on the bar counter, turned his whole body and face towards Aomine and silently watched Aomine's face, his hands, which were now playing with the empty glass...

"Stop staring at me like that. I did not say anything weird."

"No, definitely not weird, you just said something very cute."

"It was not cute."

"Oh it was. You are so sweet."

"I am not sweet!" Aomine declared rather loudly and quickly crossed his arms on the bar counter and smothered his face over it, hiding the pretty shade of red that adorned all his face now and imagined that Kise was just not still staring at him – though he knew very well that Kise was indeed still staring at him.

Kise did not say anything else to Aomine, continued smiling and savouring the new drink in front of him, while he watched Aomine's red ears. And he thought,

" _But you are so sweet..._ "

 


	15. Chapter 15

Aomine and Kise met up next day as well and spent all the morning till noon playing basketball. They were like hungry beasts attacking each other, though now and then, they would take short breaks and pull small pranks on each other, giggles and laughter galore. It had started when Kise threw some of his water unexpectedly at Aomine's shorts during the first break they took, shouting "Oh My God Aominecchi, couldn't you hold it till you rushed to the toilets?" It was utterly stupid and childish but Kise was feeling utterly stupid and childish in those moments. Aomine took his revenge by screaming "Oi Kise, there is an earthworm on your back" in the next break they took. They continued taking turns, both at the game and the pranks during the breaks: attacking each other, with serious gazes that only focused on each other's movements, hearing nothing but the noise ball made and each other's heavy breathing, a thrilling fight... Then they would turn into the joyful rigour of their youthful days in Teikou and pull the most childish pranks.

By noon, Kise begged Aomine to continue playing, he had specifically kept that day as his day off, however, despite himself desperately wanting to play basketball with Kise till midnight, Aomine had not been able to shake off his manager who wanted to discuss finer details of the new promotional campaign they were going to start for Puma.

"Puma, huh?" Kise said, after their one-on-one as they headed back together in Aomine's car, "Yup" Aomine replied, they were both wet with sweat and he felt that the summer weather was suffocating. He wished they could play more, instead he would have to spend all his afternoon with his manager going over boring details. He had only ever wanted to play basketball so promotional campaigns, commercials, interviews with magazines etc. all seemed incredibly useless and uninteresting to him. Kise seemed to be hyped up about this one though,

"It is really interesting... They don't produce basketball apparel normally. I thought Adidas would love to get you though?"

"They tried. But apparently Puma had decided to get into the market with a single new line of shoes, not just basketball but including a few for basketball too, and they apparently wanted to associate the new line with a new athlete."

"And you became that athlete? But then does that mean the line will be... like associated directly with your name?"

"Yeah. My manager wanted me to, they were apparently ready to pay a lot of money for it, I first wanted to try the products out though. So they gave me various sample ones and I have been wearing them since my European tour. I've been happy so far, I think I'll not disagree, we will finalise that last part too this week."

"Wow! So you are going to have your own line of shoes! That is so cool... I got to get some! And I am so dumb to not realise that your shoes were different during the trip... You sent me so many photos too!"

"Not... so many. I sent just a few. Don't lie. Anyway, you had your head full with other stuff right?"

"Yeah... Will you wear their shoes in the games too?"

"Nah, I cannot, the team has a deal with Adidas. But apparently that's going to be part of the whole thing; like ' _when he is doing his own stuff, this is his preference, not what others dictate or sell him_ ' kind of thing..."

"Interesting..." Kise giggled a second later,

"What?"

"I just thought that the symbol of 'Puma' is rather fitting to you... You are... like a large, beautiful feline. Alluringly proud and dangerous."

"Okay that was embarrassing."

"Yeah wow I don't even know how or why I said it."

"Um... there will be shots with actual pumas in some of the future commercials and promos though."

"Are you for real?"

"Yeah. They will do special effects of course."

"That is so cool... Wow... I wish I could see that. I really like settings like that. And the set is always a little awkward and thus funnier for those."

"Don't you get to be in sets like that all the time?"

"Ah not all the time... I do more fashion. I don't get to do much fun stuff."

"I don't know what's fun about sets and stuff... It is just so tiring and boring."

"Well, it is a matter of tastes and character. I am sure it is hard for you to be still and follow directions so that's why you hate it probably."

"Maybe... So you do only fashion these days? I always thought that you would become an actor or something while we were at school. You are so talented."

"Hah... I know right, it doesn't go that way much over here, if I stayed in Japan I probably would. I like acting but it is actually not a career I feel interested in. I am planning to get into more artistic model work too here, if I can... I just haven't been successful so far to catch the attention of any well-known photographer. But I am positive. I am not lacking in jobs anyway, even though I am rather bulky and muscular for a fashion model, it seems people like my aura. Reminds me, I actually also get a lot of requests from more... um... adult magazines? Like Playgirl has offered me a job twice."

Aomine thanked God that they were idly waiting at a red light in that moment, or else he thought he could have crashed the car or something out of shock,

"P-Pla-Playgirl?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you joking?"

"No?"

"Isn't that like... Playboy but... like for women? Like..."

"Pornographic, yeah. That's why I said adult."

"And they are interested in you?"

"Yeah. My body type actually appeals more to them than regular fashion you know."

"Oh My God... Kise..."

"Ah! Aominecchi you are all red!"

"Of course I am red! What the fuck are you talking about... I cannot believe you..."

"Aw, normally I'd say you are so innocent only that I know for a fact you are not. I declined the offer obviously, just because my body type appeals to their demographics more does not mean I'll switch to that industry. I am satisfied with where I am. Plus, I am still pretty popular in Japan."

They continued talking about how demanding modelling was and Aomine listened silently as Kise complained a bit, he realised that despite Kise being known to be the whiny one, over the months they had grown so close together, he himself probably had whined way more about work to Kise than the other way around. It was nice seeing Kise share more of his bothers and complaints with Aomine and Aomine could not help but feel happier. After dropping Kise off at his place, Aomine went to his own home to take a shower and dress up. He later drove to his manager's office and they went over some of the documents. Aomine was satisfied with most of the conditions and what was to come until he saw the picture of the person he would be shooting with the first commercial with,

"You are... joking right?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I am not going to be playing basketball with this dude right?"

"Why not?"

"Look at him! You guys probably chose him only because he is muscular but it is obvious that he does not play basketball regularly."

"Can you tell?"

"Obviously. Why would you hire somebody like this? I clearly said that I won't do still fashion shoots. That any recording or pictures should be taken while I am actually playing. How am I going to actually play with this guy?"

"He looks the part plus he has been taking basketball lessons for the last two months! I am sure he is already--"

"Are you kidding me? Or are you just mocking me? I will butcher this guy on court. He won't even be able to stand against me."

"You cannot play realistically anyway Aomine..."

"Of course I can."

"No you cannot! It is not about this specific model, I cannot find any model who could stand their guard against you on the court. We talked about this before."

"Yes we did and I said that 'I would play', 'for real' I said, though I added 'I will not push it, I will take it easy' – even me taking it easy will ruin this guy."

"I think even you taking it easy would ruin anyone. It is just impossible. We already chose him. I did ask you to come in to auditions but you told me to deal with it myself!"

"I am going to be shooting at least a commercial and a long series of photoshoots aimed at 12 different markets and you want me to work with this guy? Impossible. I simply cannot. Did he sign a contract yet?"

His manager did not reply which caused Aomine to smirk,

"He did not, did he?"

"Ugh! Nobody did since you yourself had not approved many of the details yet, but I mean everything was decided... There is compensation money and all."

"So what? Let company pay for it. We need somebody else."

"I am telling you, I cannot find anybody else. It is hard. What do you want me to do? Just go to the Cage and grab their best players? Or perhaps you would prefer me to sign in another NBA player just to play against you in a commercial!"

"Hmm... does not sound bad. Either."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Hmmm..."

"What?"

"Actually, you know, I know a person... who is a model... and can stand on his own against me in a court."

"What?"

"You know my friend?"

"God... Are you talking about Ryouta? Ryouta Kise?"

"Kise. Call him Kise. He already allows everybody to call him by his first name for some reason, I hate it."

"Whatever. We cannot do with him, he is Asian."

"Pardon?"

"He is Japanese."

"So am I."

"Yeah, and you are also Aomine Daiki. You are the exception. He will just seem like a weak Japanese boy who cannot play basketball properly. I've seen him before, he has no intimidating aura either, he is like a... pretty boy."

"He  _is_  a pretty boy. And he also happens to be one of the few people who can stand on his own and keep up with me in a one-on-one with me. I already play with him every week. And you have never seen him on court, so don't talk about how he is not intimidating enough. And God... Your comment is so racist. I won't even start on that."

"Look, I am not talking about my perception but how people will see it..."

"Have they seen Kise Ryouta on court? No they have not. You have not. If you did, you would know that nobody – nobody could perceive him as such."

"Anyway, I'll see what we can do to find a new person..."

"Hmm... You are just going to ignore my proposal like that huh?"

"Because it is a stupid proposal."

"Well I guess I am stupid... Oh, geez, I have not signed these papers yet have I?"

"You... you are joking right? You are going to earn a lot of money, I mean  _a lot_ , from this..."

"I think you may not have realised it yet but I actually don't give a crap about money. I already earn way too much, much more than I can spend. I am not interested in this at all. I am only doing this because I thought it would be cool to have shoes that have my name on it. So that's all it is to me: like personalised Coke bottles or something. A nice little fad. I could do without it."

"I am saying a lot of money!"

"And I am saying, _I don't care_. Seems like you do though?"

"How can you not... Argh, forget it, what about the compensation money? If we decline at this point..."

"I will have to pay a fine but hey, I already got the calculations made for that early on right? Why? Because I know how I am and how these kind of companies usually are. So yes, I will be losing some money. Whatever. It won't affect me. Maybe you did not hear: I really don't care about the money. As long as I have a roof over my head and I can continue playing basketball, I don't care."

"You are kidding..."

"No. Oh, but I could be kidding... if say Kise Ryouta was offered a chance for the job. I think that I would probably sign it then, because it would really interest me then."

"Okay. Let me put it this way, do you realise how this will look from his side? Everybody will say he used some connections."

"So what? They can say whatever they want. I don't want this to be forced to Kise either, all I am saying is, offer it to his manager and him, and let them decide."

"You are crazy! You are absolutely crazy. You want us to use a model whose image goes against our initial planning, market strategy, everything... The company--"

"The company will agree to it because the company needs Aomine Daiki, that's why, using your words, they offered  _a lot of money_  to me. You know as well as I do. Anyway, make an offer to Kise and send a copy of these to my home. I'll talk with Kise tomorrow, after I am sure that he is not forced to take it or leave it and makes a decision by himself, I'll sign it. Oh, if you are not planning to make the offer to him, don't even send any copies of the documents to me. No reason to kill more trees right? See ya."

Aomine did not even listen to his manager's angry complaints and grumbling as he left the office. He wasn't sure how much a  _shitstorm_ , as his manager later put it as, he had caused, but it must have been a lot because he actually got a call from Kise right away that night. His manager apparently contacted Kise's manager immediately because time was of essence,

"You are joking right? Me... with you... in a Puma commercial?"

"Why not?"

"People will think you are doing it as a favour for a friend. You already have a bad reputation."

"I don't really care. I am not favouring you either, really, do you know any models who could realistically play basketball against me? And even if I was favouring you, so what? One must use every chance, every opportunity they get to show their true talents and why can't you use this? I am not going to force you, if you really do not want to do it, I am fine with it. But I would really like it if you agreed to it."

"... you would?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Fine. I'll do it then."

"Cool, I'll ask for confirmed copies of your signed contract from my manager, then I'll sign mine."

"You don't trust my word? Aw, that hurts."

"I know how cheeky and manipulative you can be. So yeah, show me the signature."

"Hehe... fine, I'll do it right away. They already sent me the necessary documents."

It all happened so fast for both of them, Aomine's manager continued complaining non-stop but the commercial video's initial shooting had to be started at the planned date so she worked her hardest to meet the deadlines. When the big day finally came, she was still as suspicious and pessimistic as she was at the beginning of the whole ordeal,

"I cannot believe you got me to agree to this... and I can't believe I got Puma to agree to this."

"Yeah, you are so talented. And I am even more talented."

"Why are you being like this? And stop playing with the ball? What is with you today? You are acting as even more of a child. Today is an important day for your career, don't you get it?"

"Not really. I am a basketball player, this is not my career. Oh but I am sure it is an important day for yours." Aomine arrogantly smiled as he spun the basketball on his finger. The court had been specifically reserved for the initial test shooting that would take place that day and Aomine had already warmed up. He was ready for Kise.

And Kise was not one who would make people wait for a job; he entered the venue right at the pre-arranged hour of meeting. When he entered the court, he was with his manager, Yuna, and the first thing he did was to greet everyone working on the set that he passed by as he approached Aomine and his manager. He introduced himself again and personally thanked to Aomine's manager for the opportunity and shared his professional card with her. "It is part of my country's etiquette, I like practising here as well" he said, giving out a bright yet professional smile which only made Aomine's manager think, " _Oh God... He won't be able to do it... He will never stand a chance to that beast Aomine on court._ "

Aomine pouted as Kise, after only saying "Hi" to him, went to talk with the two main photographers and the director of the day's shoot, then to all the camera crew, and then again started talking with Aomine's manager. Aomine simply practised some shots while he waited for them but it seemed like it was taking ages and he was frustrated. They had decided already to not play any one-on-one that week so that Kise would be in top form in terms of his knee, and now Aomine was in serious withdrawal. He had not faced Kise enough since his return from Japan, without the league, he was already aching for some good basketball. When he turned back to look at Kise, he saw him smile gleefully as he explained something to both their managers. A childish wilfulness, jealousy, and self-indulgence captured the control of his mind and he took the posture to shoot, very accurately, targeting Kise's shoulder from the side. He was standing diagonal to them a couple of meters away, it was perfect.

As he shot the ball, Aomine could imagine what would happen just a second later and it did happen just as he had imagined it, the ball approached fast towards Kise's shoulder from his side but when it got close enough it was skilfully stopped by Kise, with a single hand. Kise grabbed it so easily and fast everyone was surprised. Something Aomine had not predicted happened that moment though: losing all his composure and tearing off his charming soft voice, Kise shouted back to Aomine with a high pitched angry tone,

"Aominecchi! I cannot believe you! How old are you? 5?! You could have hit them."

"Nah, I knew you would catch it."

Kise blushed a little at the comment as Aomine approached them with a cocky smile,

"Well, it does not matter. You should not fool around like this."

"Oh, what if I fool around? Whatcha gonna do pretty boy? Will you punish me?"

Their managers were in complete shock, not just about the ball, but the interactions of the two were completely at odds with how they behaved towards others usually,

"Oh I  _am._ I am gonna punish you so bad, you are gonna eat those words. _I will devour you_."

Aomine moved closer to Kise, invading his personal space extremely, their chests about only a bit more than a hand's length apart, he moved his head to the side a little, taking advantage of the few centimetres that Kise was still shorter than him to look down on him with his signature cocky smirk,

"Oh will you? Now... we'll see about that."

Kise smiled cheerfully, energy flowed all through his body and he moved to turn his back to Aomine, as though he was about to say his apologies in his friend's stead to the ladies, but within a split second, he turned back, moving in a semi circle he passed Aomine and shot the ball. It was too late even if Aomine had followed, he knew, so he did not bother, but simply stared at Kise's figure from behind. " _It is flawless_ " he thought, " _oh I am going to devour you on this court._ "

Kise then ran to grab the ball which now sat peacefully on the ground, then as he returned, he first passed the ball back to Aomine and then ran fast to the front of their managers and bowed a little, "I am very sorry for my sudden outburst. And of course, Aominecchi's as well. He has always been a little bit of an idiot. Please excuse us. Be assured that today we will both be flawless on the court." He then flashed a confident and cheerful smile and dragged Aomine away, complaining, "Come on, we still have to get our make ups put on and stuff... stop playing around".

As they watched them from behind, both managers thought that they looked like a couple of basketball crazed teenagers having fun at the school's court, Kise's manager, Yuna, even vocalised the thought,

"They are like a couple of teenagers aren't they? It is sort of cute actually."

"Uh yeah" Aomine's manager, Jane, replied.

Unlike regular fashion shoots or most commercial shoots, there was not a well-defined plan and neither Aomine nor Kise would actually pose deliberately for the cameras. Instead a special setup was prepared to capture various shots of both, as well as capture videos of their game from various angles at the same time. They would play as always and the cameras were specially configured to take high speed captures. The director had the vision of producing a video that would depict the game between the two first in a surreal manner with motions blurred and bursting colours and then slowly fade into a realistic view. This was only initial testing though, basically trying out the ideas that were out there first, to see which ones would be the most fitting. They also had wanted to ensure the two leads compatibility but after the little banter on the court none really had any doubts; Jane had to admit that Kise indeed had amazing chemistry with Aomine.

They were still bickering slightly and Aomine had his arm resting over the other's shoulder, when they came to the court with their make up on, wearing the sports gear each was assigned – which were really, very simple, a sleeveless black top and navy shorts for Aomine and a matching white and navy set for Kise. Seeing them almost innocently playful like this, nobody had expected the elegantly violent battle royal that unleashed the moment they were given the green light to tip off.

It was "violent", Aomine's manager Jane was sure of it, perhaps nobody was bleeding, nobody had any weapon, not a single wound was opened nor a single punch thrown, but it was "violent". Fast attacks and counter-attacks that eyes could struggle to follow up with, the predatory gaze each focused on the other, the sheer strength that was being unveiled... It was like watching two animals of the same kind fighting for dominance over territory, displaying all their might as they assaulted each other again and again and it seemed as though they enjoyed it.

It was incredibly vulgar yet incredibly graceful at the same time. They were breathing hard and heavy, as the moments passed a slightly shining layer of sweat covered both, their muscles flexed and as each attacked or blocked, one could see the great strain on their bodies; yet they were smiling. They were smiling at each other like hungry beasts ready to devour their prey. They were smiling at each other as though being on the court, engaging in such a brutal showdown gave an immense pleasure to one and the spectators could not fathom just how this was possible. They were smiling at each other, regardless of who scored or how, and the tempo never fell... even after the short breaks that were taken now and then, right after the break they would continue as though they had never stopped in the first place. They continued and continued, confronted each other countless times, and nobody was keeping the score but Kise knew at the back of his mind that Aomine was doing slightly better... They continued and continued... till it was heard: "Cut. OK. We are done for the day."

Hearing this Aomine stopped in his tracks, he was about to shoot when he had heard the news. Kise, simply quickly sat down on the floor.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"I beat you."

"You were counting?"

"Hell yeah! I am sure you were too Kise. You know I beat you."

"It was a slight margin."

"Yeah. But I still beat you. By the way, you sure you are okay?"

"Ah... I... well... I should be fine."

"I think you overexerted yourself... We were supposed to take it easy but instead we got too excited huh?" Aomine smiled gently, dropped the ball close and sat across Kise on the floor,

Kise smiled bitterly,

"Yeah... I guess... Ah I still can't beat you... and it has been almost a year. Why are you so great?! It is so not fair."

"Oh but you adore it -- that I am so great."

"Shut up, Ahominecchi... hmpf..." Kise said playfully and let himself loose, lied on the cold ground of the court, he felt as though he was burning and it was nice to feel the coldness on the bare skin of his shoulders as well as over his now fully wet sleeveless shirt.

"Yeah yeah, such a sore loser." Aomine got up and moved closer to Kise, looked down at the young man now sprawled over the court's floor, he gulped a little at the sight, Kise sure looked captivating to him like that, nevertheless he snorted and offered his hand,

"Come on pretty boy, get up."

"Aw you are offering me a hand? How sweet... Are you perhaps pitying me Aominecchi?" Kise giggled, Aomine was not sure if he had asked this playfully or seriously, or if his giggle was sincere or sarcastic, so he decided to answer seriously,

"Well if this was an official match and we were playing as aces of our rival teams, hell no, I would not offer you a hand, it would totally be an insult to you. But we were playing as buddies and now we'll go back and eat some delicious ramen as buddies. I am so hungry, come on, stop making me wait like this. People will start talking about it."

"Oh, and I know just how much you care about what people think!" Kise laughed as he lifted himself up and grabbed Aomine's hand. His knee was not feeling very good, he had indeed overexerted himself out of excitement and he knew that Aomine was deliberately not mentioning this directly, in case somebody would hear it and think any less of Kise. He cherished these subtle ways in which Aomine would be thoughtful and caring. When he was up, Aomine quickly wrapped his arm around Kise's shoulder to help him stabilise but outsiders would simply pass it as their regular on court skinship. Kise could not help but giggle happily at the gentle yet hidden care he was receiving,

"Huh? Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing... You know, you are just too cute."

"God, stop calling me things like that."

"Why? Oh, you blush easily, perhaps you don't want to blush in front of people?"

"Kise, I swear to God if you continue this I am just going to drop you."

"And just like that he goes back to being a cruel, mean bastard... Shall I cry here? In front of everyone?"

"Ah, just... fine, whatever, call me whatever you want."

"Ahaha... but when you are like this you are even cuter Aominecchi. So cute."

Aomine sighed as Kise continued to giggle, watching them from behind as they walked away Jane thought that Aomine was right,

" _Perhaps, Kise Ryouta is the only person who is not intimidated by him and instead even manages to intimidate him... huh... interesting. Such an interesting pretty boy_ " she mumbled to herself.

 


	16. Chapter 16

The shooting wrapped up in the next three days and every single person involved in the project, even Aomine, was satisfied and happy about it. Truthfully, Aomine was expecting the whole ordeal to be painfully boring for him but the agreement of the other parties to his unique requests and the addition of Kise had made it entertaining. The life, if he had to admit it, was going very well. The first commercial was to be unveiled the week of his birthday, since the association with his name would be very strong, they thought it would be a nice touch.

They watched the début of the commercial together at Aomine's house and though Aomine had not been very excited about the whole thing, he felt very entertained and accomplished as he watched the final product. He thought that they both looked good and perhaps they looked their best on the court; he would not admit it easily to anyone, but he especially liked the way Kise looked and moved on the court. Within a few hours of the first broadcast of the commercial, social media was buzzing with the news: the fact that the video was recorded during a real basketball game by Aomine and the model against him was the source of much sensation, which amused Aomine greatly because when he had first offered the idea, out of knowledge of his own incapability of properly posing for camera or perform mock-basketball play, his manager had been furious. " _She must be so happy now_ " Aomine thought and confirmed after an hour when she actually called to congratulate and to talk about the positive feedback that was coming from viewers.

One of the hot topics of conversation soon became Kise Ryouta, his name started trending as a hashtag across the United States and tweets were galore,

" _Just who the heck can block Aomine like that and is not an NBA star?! Who is he?_ "

" _I can't believe that he is actually a model, I swear to God when I watched it I was sure he was from a foreign league or something..._ "

" _People saying that this was not a pre-planned game but I'm sure they manipulated the heck out of this. No amateur can stand against Aomine like that._ "

Broadcast media picked up on it fast too, sports commentators mentioned it in radio shows, during a TV sports news segment a host even went to jokingly suggest: " _I don't think it was for real, because if this is for real, teams must line up to sign that Japanese boy in._ "

The production company for the commercial had anticipated this and to ride the waves of the hype further had actually prepared a  _behind the scenes_  video, which not only contained recordings of how camera crew itself recorded the real game, but also interviews with some of the staff from the camera crew, portions from the basketball game between Aomine and Kise that had not made it to the commercial, and antics and interactions of the two off-camera on the set. When this behind the scenes video was published the next day online, it went viral. And one of the reasons it went viral was not something most in the production company had anticipated, except perhaps a few women in the editing department;

" _OMG! Did you people see Aomine's commercial's behind-the-scenes? The way he acts with that blond Japanese model is adorkable._ "

" _They are both so good looking and I can't believe Aomine kept putting his arm around the blond. I blushed just watching them._ "

" _Apparently they are middle school or high school buddies or something! Crazy! How come that blond guy is not a basketball player? He is so talented!_ "

" _I mean... I am not even interested in basketball but shit if this Kise Ryouta guy start playing in NBA or something, I'll definitely watch his every single match._ "

" _I think my ovaries just exploded._ "

To say the least the female fandom of Aomine Daiki increased tremendously that day and Kise Ryouta became, from a little-known fashion model who would often be rejected by big name brands because of his body type and race to a social-media-favourite fangirl-heartthrob web-sensation. And it helped. A lot. His manager spent the day on the phone receiving many new job offers for commercials and adverts but also significant offers from well-known fashion magazines and houses.

"Wow... they are apparently writing fan fiction about us."

"What? Why would they do that?!"

"Ah Aominecchi, you spent your life chasing after breasts yet you understand so little of the intricate details of female heart... or desire. We are hot. And we look even hotter together."

"We do?" Aomine was confused,

"Hell yeah! I am really charming, after all, I have a graceful and elegant beauty contrasted by my might and agility on the court; a delicately alluring and playfully amorous almost feminine face yet an assertively strong and naturally lascivious masculine body. Practically, I am appealing to any and all who are sexually active. And you... well, you are a hunk. And you are ferocious on the court."

Aomine raised an eyebrow at that,

"You forgot to add that you are stunningly modest."

Kise burst out laughing but continued,

"Want me to read you one of the fan fiction stories?"

"No. No way. Why would you read it to me?!"

"Aw, but come on it would be fun."

"How the heck do you find these kind of things anyway? Like, after the first day I even stopped looking at it on the web... seriously all kinds of weird comments. This thing has gone crazy."

"Well it has a bit. How has your manager reacted? Mine has been incredibly happy. Since all this attention is not bad at all. But I guess especially the latest unexpected twist of fangirl deluge might have made yours a bit displeased, huh?"

"Why?"

"Um, you are a basketball player. Aren't you supposed to look and act all macho to show your 'manliness'? I doubt fangirls' attention would help that. I mean most of your existing fans are male, aren't they? Will they really like it?"

"I don't think any of it has anything to do with my 'manliness'. You are gay, are you any less of a man? Plus my manager said that most of my male fans read our relationship as being tight basketball bros and they like it quite a bit."

"Oh, that's good to know... that they are not shaken by the internet bubble. Because I mean even if it is fiction and even if the hype will end sooner or later, pictures or stories slashing us hard could affect your male fans bad right? Our skinship in the video doesn't help either... They might think you are gay."

"But I am bi."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean 'huh'?"

"Um... it's just..."

"You know, I won't repeat this again but: I fell in love with you. I actually still love you. And I am a man. And you are a man. Yet I can also like and sleep with women. Thus, I am a bisexual."

"Okay fine fine... but even if you are, are you fine with all knowing about it?"

"Nobody knows about it. These are just... fantasies of some women."

"Yeah, but they are talking about it... and if tomorrow people learnt--"

"So what? So what if they learn? I am not going to go out of my way to tell them because in the first place my sexual or romantic life is none of their business, but I am not planning to hide it either. And if anybody has a problem with it, it's their own problem, not mine. If they are fans not because of my basketball but who I sleep with, then I don't want fans like that in the first place... sickening."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"You would be fine if they found out you are bisexual, say tomorrow?"

Aomine sighed, and for a second thought of a way to express this properly,

"Some people would probably say a shit ton of nasty stuff which would make me mad but you know that I generally don't care what others think. But not everyone is like me. Nor is it a good thing that I am so indifferent to what others think or say. It really is not. But in this case it just happens to help a bit... so yes, even if they learnt, even if I was bored and mad at all the attention, I wouldn't care much. If I had a gay relationship, I would not hide it, even if I knew they would blabber about it. Because I don't care about them. But please don't take this the wrong way. Everyone is different. As I said my indifference of others is not good in the first place. And... and perhaps I am being ignorant, I am... still new at this."

The playful smile and the curious gaze that inhabited Kise's eyes till then slowly faded away, he leaned back on the couch and gripped the tablet in his hands a bit tighter as he watched Aomine who was sitting on the armchair don a slight pink shade over his cheeks... They were at Kise's apartment after a morning one-on-one at the streetball court nearby. Surely it was not easy for Aomine to talk about his feelings, with Kise especially, but he did it anyway and Kise felt that this honesty and intimacy that existed between them was very beautiful. And he thought that Aomine was also very beautiful, to be so thoughtful of others even when talking about himself. After the gentle silence he spent observing Aomine, he declared mischievously,

"Well then, I shall read you a lovely fan fiction story. It has sex in it too. Pretty kinky stuff."

"God... Kise... No! I said no!"

The two spent rest of the day bickering. Just bickering.

Most of the September would be spent in pre-season matches so Aomine really wanted to make most of the first week of September he had to himself to thoroughly have fun and relax. However, it was also second week into the new web-sensation status he and Kise had received, and though the attention on the web had decreased a bit and broadcast media had already forgotten about it all – but thankfully the commercial was still successfully running – a new form of media had gotten obsessed with them: tabloids. He had learnt about it rather late since tabloids were not something he was interested in and his manager had been to busy to deal with more serious coverage of his image and other issues, so they realised it late that some paparazzi had taken photos of him and Kise playing one-on-one against each other at a random streetball court and also when they were eating some post-game ramen like they often did. At first all parties involved thought that albeit a nuisance, this was not something to be concerned about. So Aomine and Kise would not be able to go to the same court or the ramen shop for a few weeks or so maybe, but that would be it, they thought. Things escalated though, tabloids and their web-versions started not only sprouting weird rumours here and there (" _Is Ryouta Kise half Norwegian? Shocking story from a family friend's friend_ ") but also following the duo pretty closely. They were now known as either the "amazingly talented basketball bros" or "hot basketball couple" among the various different groups online, depending on the demographics of each group, and tabloids fed the frenzy every day.

Aomine believed that all would turn out well. He did not like the attention but surely it would end. If it only ended soon so that he could spend his last few days in the city before he left for the long tour of pre-season matches across the country... His wishes were not fulfilled. Not at all. Three days before Aomine was to leave the city, one of the well-known tabloids published a headline:

" _Ex-boyfriend exposes: Ryouta Kise is gay._ "

Once the news reached internet – and that happened very fast – Aomine was woken up from his sleep by relentless calls of his manager, Jane:

"Did you see the news online? The gossip about Ryouta?"

"Huh? What news? What gossip? And I told you not to call him Ryouta..." Aomine said, yawning.

"Everyone is saying Kise is gay."

"Yeah, they have been saying that about me and Kise for like... what two weeks now? You should see some of the stuff they wrote, it's crazy explicit and some are just outright disturbi--"

"I am not talking about fangirls' fantasies idiot! Some tabloid published an expose, they talked with an ex-boyfriend of Kise apparently."

"What?"

"Some guy named Michael... I don't know if this is for real but I need to know, so is it for real?"

"Did Kise say anything yet?"

"Uh... no, I did not hear anything from him or his manager yet."

"Good. See you later."

"Hey, answer me!"

Aomine hung up and ensured to block Jane's number for the next couple of hours, he was not going to be the one to talk about Kise's life and sexuality with anyone. He called Kise who received the call only after many, many rings,

"Finally! Do you know how worried I was, why are you picking up so late? Are you okay?"

"So you heard the news, huh?" Kise laughed but this was the bitter and angry laughter that Aomine heard only now and then, he cringed at it slightly,

"You are not obviously. Stupid question. I am sorry. It is my fault. I should not have asked you to do the commercial with me."

"Why not? You were right in your argumentation then. And I agreed to it myself. It is not your fault anyway..."

"I... I can't help but feel guilty. Oh fuck, who cares about how I feel, what do we do, just tell me?"

"Huh?"

"What are you planning to do? How can I help you?"

Kise chuckled silently at that, a bit amused and a bit sarcastic,

"Nothing much we can do Aominecchi... The bastard even told them he had pictures. That's a message to me, if I deny it he is going to just get them out... Not that I was planning to deny it necessarily. My manager already knew my orientation. So she is dealing with it now... She told me to not say anything to anyone for now but we will later issue a video directly online to the fans, telling that yes I am indeed gay but that this is an unexpected and ugly breach of my privacy."

"What about the photos?"

"Ah... I really don't know what to do about them... Yuna said she will try to talk some sense into the man perhaps, but it is hard. If he chooses to I cannot help it. Bastard... there are even some intimate stuff apparently, he sent some of them to me earlier this morning. Can you believe his arrogance? Such a prick. And I did not let him take any of those pictures. He took them without my consent apparently... in most I am visibly sleeping."

"Can I talk about this to my manager? She probably has better connections. Maybe we can stop him from releasing those at least."

"I am not sure... more attention could courage him than to deter... I am just tired and confused."

"I'll come over..."

"Don't!"

"Why not?"

"Are you crazy? It's exposed and known that I am gay now. If you do something like that people will assume you are my lover."

"I am your friend. And who cares what they think."

"I do at this point! Why don't you get into your thick head that not everyone is as thick-skinned and indifferent as you are?!" Kise's tone was angry but Aomine knew that he was actually being thoughtful of Aomine,

"If you absolutely don't want me to come, then I will not come. But I am here for you. And you are right, I am sorry."

"You... you don't have to be sorry. I am sorry for lashing out at you..."

"You can lash out at me as much as you want..."

"Don't be silly."

"I am serious. I am sure you are stressful. And I can take it. I wish we could play basketball now..."

"Now?!"

"I am sure you want it too, don't lie... You always want to play when you are angry or frustrated or stressed. It's the same for me, so I know."

"I do... God damn it I do...hah... and if I asked you to play now with me, you would probably do it right? You would say 'Kise you're an idiot to think of this now but your majesty will grant your wish' or something similarly arrogant and reluctant, but you'd be here in the speed of light."

"Yes I would be."

Kise paused for a second and then said, in a little, quieter voice,

"Thank you."

"We are friends. That's what friends do."

Aomine silently listened to mumblings and ramblings of Kise for hours then, sometimes they would not speak for minutes and just silently listen to each other's breathing. He could feel that Kise was lonely and extremely frustrated, however, there was not much he could do within the tight boundaries set upon them so being together with him, even a silent and remote presence, he thought, would help. And in all honesty, it actually did. They only hung up when the time for Kise to record and publish his little announcement video came. Aomine wished him good luck. Moments later, it was Aomine who first watched the video too – Kise had sent him before putting online to ask for his opinion. He agreed that it was good.

By the time it was evening and Japan woke up to hear the news, the first person to call Aomine was Akashi, they discussed the matter and Aomine mentioned of the photographs in the hopes that Akashi's intricate web of authority reached across the Pacific. It did apparently as Akashi told him that he could deal with the photographs and the internal Japanese media as well – as the news would surely make the headlines in Japanese tabloids too – however Akashi was open about the dim prospects in controlling how the American media handled the affair: "it is simply impossible, corporate media is not leading the news these days, it is the social media and there are no... control mechanisms... for social media, it is not like corporate media. They will run their mouths off, you two just be patient and stay out of sight as much as possible."

While Aomine actually agreed with Akashi on that last comment, by late in the night he was feeling extremely worried as he called Kise numerous times to no answer. He sent countless messages that were not replied either. If his phone was turned off, Aomine would understand it; but it was not that either, it would ring, again and again and as hours passed it started to sound like the horrifying wailing of a banshee... Had anything bad happened to Kise? He did not know Michael well enough to know just what the man was capable of, but this last crap he pulled surely meant that he was no good. But just, how much of a "no good" was he? Would he or rather could he put Kise through worse? The question kept pricking his mind, expanding and wrapping up all around it like a poisonous ivy... After hours of not being able to reach Kise, he simply said farewell to his better judgement and reasoning and went out. He tried his best to not be seen by anybody but partially knew that it was impossible. When he reached to Kise's house, as he quickly paced the stairs the worst kind of things came to his mind, the story Kise shared of his past did not help either, since then he had subconsciously started to be even more protective of his friend. His first knocks on Kise's door were normal but soon he was banging, "Kise, it's me! Aomine!"

The door finally opened though he could not see anybody and this scared him a little, when he was inside he turned around to see the figure standing near the door and had opened the door while staying behind; he understood why, partially. Kise was almost naked with only a towel around his waist and he was dripping wet. Though the lighting in the room was dim, Aomine could discern just how red Kise's eyes were and how surprised his facial expression was,

"What are you doing here?"

"Why didn't you pick up your phone?"

"Huh? You called me?"

"I have been calling you for hours. Since the evening. You did not receive it and I started thinking all kinds of shit..."

"Ah... Aominecchi, it is not like I am being hunted by a serial killer or something. I was just outed that's it."

"Don't say 'just' for something like that! And I... I mean if even _I_ am scared this much, then you must be so too, being in the middle of... of all this shit."

Kise chuckled a bit and Aomine could not, for the love of God, figure out what kind of a laugh it was; Kise simply had too many different kinds of laughters and smiles... this was not a nice or happy one of them though.

"It is okay. I am fine. I am strong you know."

"I know you are strong. But being strong does not mean that you need to be alone when you would prefer company. It does not mean that you do not appreciate having friends help or show care. It does not mean that I, as your friend, have to leave you alone. You don't have to prove to me or anyone your strength, hell I know how strong you are the best. I face you out there on the court, I know your strength the best. But... I still care about you. They are unrelated."

Kise chuckled a bit again and Aomine could not figure it out again, though this one sounded more sincere and perhaps a bit glad, then Kise stepped a bit closer to Aomine and put his head on Aomine's shoulder. Aomine could feel the fruity scent of the shampoo, and as his shirt started to suck some of the wetness from Kise's long hair, and a few drops of water fell over Aomine's chest and to the floor from the tips of that very same hair, Aomine realised that Kise's fingers were all wrinkled and he was too cold despite the hot weather of the particular night.

"I... I was in the bath. I just thought it would help clear my mind. But I fell asleep in the tub apparently. So silly... The phone was here in the living room. It was on silent. I just didn't want to hear anybody any more. Everyone from Japan called too... all the guys from Teikou. They all said it was fine. And my family too. My parents want to talk with me personally, face to face later on, but my sisters were supportive. They said it was fine. But it is not fine. None of this is fine. This was supposed to be a decision I make, a news I break to my family and friends; not some goddamn cocky prick and his descriptions of how my moaning in bed sounds like. And I was afraid too. And I hated that I was afraid. And I could hear some pity in some of the phone calls, it was my imagination probably, I don't think Kurokocchi would pity me or Momocchi... but I hated it. I hate it. I hate the pity. I don't want anybody to pity me. I don't want you to pity me either... Aominecchi..."

Kise talked so fast yet almost mumbled each word, a complaint and irritation obvious in his voice, Aomine in return simply hugged him gently,

"I don't pity you Kise. I have never pitied you in my life. If anything, I have always been amazed by you."

Kise spent most of the night complaining in a small voice of various things, some made sense some did not, Aomine did not comment on either, he simply listened for most of the night and made some tea for Kise, and thanked Momoi inside for teaching him how to make tea when they were younger despite his reluctance to learn it. After Kise started falling asleep on the couch and absolutely rejected to go back to his bed, Aomine put a thin bed cover over him and himself dozed off on the armchair near the couch. When he woke up in the morning earlier than Kise, every single inch of his body was hurting, he cursed himself inside for being too much of a softie and not getting Kise in the bed so that he himself could take the couch and at least lie down properly... He took a shower and prepared the only kind of breakfast he was capable of preparing: toast and scrambled eggs. Kise was a bit surprised but also glad that it was Aomine waking him up and he seemed to beam even brighter upon seeing the freshly prepared breakfast. They ate in silence till Aomine's phone rang, his calendar application notifying him of the press conference he had with rest of his team about the pre-season schedule and the new season in an hour. He explained the situation to Kise as he got ready to leave and really, Kise did not mind, he was already thankful and a bit embarrassed and advised Aomine to just " _not come back till you have been victorious in all your pre-season games_ ".

Aomine thought that all was better, surely the media would harass Kise a bit longer and internet rumours would continue maybe for a few more days, but slowly things would return to normal. It had even started to, Kise was surely looking better that morning. With these positive thoughts he quickly changed at home and drove to the venue for the press conference.

Despite the never-ending media hype around him, he was not one of the first to talk according to the pre-defined plan, so when the press conference started he simply waited for his turn to speak as one of the regulars of the upcoming season. After he finished his comments, which were really nothing fancy or over-the-top but simple and confident statements, when the time came for Q&A from the press, that was the point that it all became hectic:

"Is it true that you spent the night with your friend and Puma campaign partner Ryouta Kise?"

"People are saying that they saw you come out of his apartment this morning before this conference? Any comments?"

"Aomine Daiki, are you gay?"

The countless questions flooded him and he was simply shocked, he had not expected his presence at Kise's house to matter this much nor had he expected to be questioned like this, he was even more shocked at just why the hell were they asking these questions in the first place – he was a professional basketball player and he had come to talk about basketball and most of these reporters were not tabloid reporters, they were supposed to be sports reporters. A commotion started, as questions piled up against Aomine's shocked silence and disturbed face, Jane who was sitting at the corner walked up to Aomine, leaning towards the microphone she said,

"Please guys, let's keep it to basketball. Also, you all know just how much Aomine loves breasts... and women. If anything he has been too honest about it!" she laughed and a small wave of laughter passed through the crowd, reporters and teammates alike, most of them apparently appreciated Jane's sentiment. As though a heavy burden was lifted from them, Aomine heard some people – he was not sure who at that point – whisper among the crowd, "yeah, she is right, he is a huge douche when it comes to women", "yeah, I myself saw him hit on girls in the bars countless times, he is a playboy", "can you imagine him gay? I can't... that Ryouta guy, now that I can"... Some in the crowd were not satisfied though and pressed on,

"But how do you explain him spending night at Ryouta Kise's place then?"

"He was very close with Ryouta Kise during the behind-the-scenes video of the latest commercial as well. There were already rumours about the two. Are you denying these rumours?"

Jane calmly responded, "Guys really, stop it, it's not even funny... Why would you think he is gay?! Let's talk about basketball as planned."

Aomine was not sure why he did it and if he had to admit to himself only a few minutes after the incident, well, it was a very, very,  _very_  stupid thing to do. But at that moment he did it anyway, it was almost as if his mouth moved unintentionally and words came out subconsciously,

"Why would you think I am gay? Or why would you think I am straight?"

Everyone's eyes turned towards him and for a second all were silent, including a horrified and surprised Jane who could sense something big was coming, if Aomine had stopped there and did not continue, it would only cause more intrusive questions to be thrown at him the next second but that would be it. But Aomine did not stop there, no, he instantly continued,

"Why would you make assumptions about my sexuality in the first place? Why do you care? I am only a basketball player, who I sleep with does not affect my play in any way. I don't get you people. I am Kise's friend. He was outed in a terrible and demeaning way with many lies and half-truths. He was depressed. I went to console him. I am his friend. That's what friends do. Stop looking for an ulterior motive in everything."

"Does that mean you do not have any romantic relationship or feelings towards Ryouta Kise?"

A reporter, a young woman was asking this and her gaze was directed right at Aomine's face; the question bothered him a lot, he honestly hated why he had to discuss his private life or feelings with these people, but the things he told Kise resonated in his ears and... and then Jane jumped in:

"Please stop pushing it. Aomine already said they were  _just_ friends. Aomine is  _not_  gay."

Then Aomine replied, in the most serious tone he could ever speak in,

"Yes, I am  _not_  gay. I am bisexual. I like both women and men. And I do like Kise Ryouta. In a romantic way too. But he has rejected me. So we are, as Jane – my manager said,  _just_ friends. If I ever start a relationship with him, or anybody else really, you would probably realise, since I am not one to hide his relationships. And since it seems that none of you are interested in my basketball, yet this is supposed to be a basketball related press conference, pardon me but I shall leave."

Aomine stormed off the room so fast as he cursed himself inside, he could hear the crazy noise outside and he could only imagine what people were already posting on the web, despite his quick pace somehow Jane still managed to catch up to him,

"You are joking right?! Do you know what the fuck you just did?!"

"I know it was not a good idea but I swear to God, it is the truth and I said it. I said it. And I am not taking it back. Both you and the team has to deal with it. This is how I am. This is who I am. And I am damn valuable to you guys."

He shouted but did not spare a look back, he simply wanted to drive off to his house as soon as he could and sneak into bed and just hope, hope that Kise would not turn on the TV or check out his social network accounts or surf the web – basically just stay disconnected that day,

" _Please Kise, I beg you... just sleep all day or something... Oh God, what did I do! He will kill me._ " he mumbled as he ran outside to his car.

 


	17. Chapter 17

Perhaps the God was benevolent towards Aomine that day as Kise indeed spent most of his day in bed, reading the books Kuroko had recently recommended him but he had never found the time to look into. God's benevolence towards Aomine was not endless that day though, apparently, because Kise eventually got out bed when he realised that evening had fallen and he was hungry. After preparing a sandwich for himself, he took his mobile phone to check out his social network accounts and catch up with the world. He was feeling much better and some of the lovely feedback he got to his video message had warmed his heart a lot. The last thing he had expected was yet another scandal. But there it was, just seeing the count of thousands of mentions on his twitter feed and hundreds of asks on his tumblr, he knew something had happened. After thirty minutes spent checking many of the numerous recordings or soundbites or even gifs of Aomine's confession which had become yet another web-sensation and breaking news across the country, he called Aomine.

"..."

"Hello? Kise?"

"..."

"Oh... well, I guess you don't want to talk. Or maybe you called wrong number? See ya."

"I am silent because I literally do not know what to say."

"Nothing? Say nothing... that sounds like a good idea to me."

"I mean... should I be mad? Should I be amused? Should be sad? Should I freak out?"

"'Amused' option does look like a good one to me personally."

"Aominecchi, just what the heck were you thinking?"

"I was not thinking."

"That actually makes sense."

"I am sorry okay. I really am. I know I did something I should not have and I caused you a lot of trouble."

"Hmm... is that why you are sorry?"

"Huh?"

"You are not sorry that the whole nation knows you are bisexual and are already talking pretty much crap about it, but you are sorry because I might get extra nasty attention because of this?"

"Um, yeah?"

Kise chuckled sincerely,

"I sometimes cannot believe you... You really don't care what they think or say, then why in the first place get so mad at them that you blurt out something like that?"

"Of course I get angry because the bullshit they were spewing was not just about me and plus when Jane answered like that, it looked as though she was talking on my behalf. I don't want to lie to people. I am who I am and I am not ashamed of who I am."

"You never have..."

"Yeah, even in times when I should have. Really. And this was not even one of those..."

Aomine felt calmer now hearing that Kise was not as angry as he had expected, perhaps it was not as terrible as he had imagined it would be, he had been so terrified of all the drama this would unfold that he had not checked out the news nor the social media since he got home, he spent hours lazying on the sofa... then Kise said, in a serious tone too,

"I received 112 twitter mentions that are either asking me to kill myself or telling me that they would kill me; apparently the  _dudebros_  are not happy that you are bi and blame me for it and some of the hardcore Aominecchi fangirls are immensely frustrated and angry that I rejected you."

"You are kidding..."

"Nope, I am not. Received about 49 asks on my tumblr too, more or less the same stuff. And I don't even want to start about the Facebook comments... Do you think I'll get weird phone calls? I feel like I might get some by tomorrow. They surely will find a way to get my phone number."

"God please... Kise stop talking. You are making me feel worse. I am so sorry. Do you think we should get you a bodyguard or something? Maybe you should take a vacation somewhere away? Europe, maybe? I'll pay for it!"

"Stop being a worrywart Aominecchi, these are just childish frustrations of infantile minds and souls. And plus, I am not going anywhere because of brats like them."

"Uh... Okay."

"Wow you are so docile tonight Aominecchi."

"Shut up. I know when I screw up, okay? I know I screwed up."

"Hmm... you know, I also received about 200 or so twitter mentions wishing me or us luck, telling that they respect both my and your choice. Some were begging me really politely to think it over though. And then some sent these cute drawings of us, with like, 'Come on Kise – you two are so cute together!' notes. It was sweet actually. Also on tumblr my fans and your fans first brawled a bit but it seems that by now they are back to normal and many are politely trying to woo me to take you as my boyfriend. It is hilarious. And cute."

"You are joking right?"

"Of course, not. This is our new reality Aominecchi, people will talk about it, and talk about it, and talk about it, and draw about it... They might even cosplay. Actually, I think I'd like to see that."

"I don't even know if you are enjoying this or you are mad at me... or maybe you are both."

"I think I am both too... I realised that the best way to deal with this is to take it as an amusing affair at the moment. I am angry though."

"I will play one-on-one with you as many times as you want next week."

"How is that possible? Not only because that tabloids would probably chase us, but you're going for the pre-season games tomorrow aren't you? And then you have consecutive games..."

"Well, coach called me and told me that due to recent... unwanted attention on my personal life... and well, he did not want this to take away attention from the team and all... whatever, basically he told me that I will not be playing in any pre-season games till last week of September. I will play in late September and early October ones only. "

"Are you serious? That's bad..."

"Yeah, it kind of sucks. But he assured me that though what I did was stupid he respected my choices and this was not really a punishment about who I am but a measure needed due to my antics that stole the spotlight from the team and our basketball to my personal life..."

"Sounds about right."

"In any case, I am basically free and yours to play with."

Kise chuckled and with an exaggerated voice replied,

"Oh, now that gives me some ideas... you see I read this fan fiction about us the other day..."

"God Kise, okay, I know you are angry but please, stop torturing me like this. I said I am sorry. Your passive aggressive teasing way of getting angry is really horrifying."

"It involved bondage."

"Okay I am hanging up."

Kise started laughing uncontrollably and after a second of pause Aomine joined him as well, he had not expected to be forgiven by Kise so easily but it was nice that he was.

In the middle of his chatting with Kise though, Aomine got a call from afar, Momoi was calling.

She must have woken up to the news, which meant that the rest of the Japan had as well. He sighed and told about it to Kise, who laughed too enthusiastically for Aomine's liking and teased Aomine to get ready for what was to come before hanging up.

After Momoi thoroughly ridiculed and denounced Aomine for acting like a lovestruck teenager when he should have known better, causing unnecessary media hype and making both himself and Kise the target of unwanted attention, it was apparently Kuroko's turn as he called only a few minutes after Momoi hung up. And Kagami's turn too, apparently: it was Kagami who took the phone right away from Kuroko and begged Aomine to tell him that the whole thing was just a joke, upon hearing the confirmation that no, Aomine was serious, and that he was in love with Kise (and this bothered and angered Aomine, because, " _just why the heck Bakagami cares so much?_ " he thought), Kagami started wailing loudly,

"I cannot believe you are doing this! It... it is a sacred ground! The court! It is a sacred ground! And you... you were looking at Kise like that? I cannot believe you! You disgusting pig! You... you pervert with ulterior motives!"

"Don't mind him," said Kuroko with an almost indifferent and tired tone as the took the phone abruptly from the grumbling Kagami, "he just lost it since he heard the news... not that he is mad or sad about either of you or your sexuality; he is just being a child... He is having a hard time accepting the possibility that you may be or become more than friends and how it would affect the rivalry amongst you... and you know, he is a bit... innocent."

"I don't understand why he is blaming me though."

"Well, we all are blaming you. You were the one who blurted it out. And based on what you blurted out, you are having one-sided feelings, so why should anybody blame Kise-kun? Oh, I don't blame either of you personally. Love is love. Even between friends. It cannot be helped. I do blame you about confessing it to the whole world though, it is so insensitive towards Kise-kun. "

Aomine was happy that neither Murasakibara nor Midorima called, both sent text messages though; Murasakibara, threatened Aomine with crushing him into a bloody pulp if he ever pulled anything "mean" to Kise, which surprised Aomine because he had not thought that the two were close but then he knew that perhaps the one who inevitably received the most fondness by all of them was Kise due to his honestly joyful character. Even if they preferred not to show it most of the time. Midorima's was very interesting though, it started with a reprimand on how both were acting absolutely improper by exposing their private matters to public like this and it ended with a series of cautionary advices on how to turn their lives around. It did not contain a single denouncement or approval about the elephant in the room though: that Aomine loved Kise. Midorima had almost taken that for granted and simply acted like a father who is more interested in the manners and how one should lead their life than his son's sexuality. Aomine thought that in a way this was very Midorima-like, indeed.

The one call he received around midnight, the last call he received from friends back home, was the most anxious one actually. Akashi's voice was very cold and crisp, he apologised calling so late at first, continued with the basic conversation starters, such as the weather and what not... then he moved on to lecture him about public relations, image management, and most awkwardly: love. At the end of the conversation, there was almost a threatening tone in his voice, as he cautioned Aomine to be mature about this. When Aomine exclaimed that he had indeed been so and it was none of their business, Akashi was unfazed and simply reminded that the little PR disaster he pulled was nowhere near mature and it was their business:

"I do not want either of you to be hurt due to hasty decisions or uncertain feelings. But if you are sincere in your feelings, then I wish you the best of luck, if possible."

This was not the kind of talk Aomine ever had with Akashi and it felt very strange, at moments frustrating, and at others reassuring. Before they hung up, Akashi also reassured Aomine not to worry much about how Japanese media would handle it, "again, I cannot make any promises about social media, and you should see all the art that is already piling up about you two on pixiv, but in terms of corporate media, we will handle it." Aomine still had a hard time realising that Akashi, the short silent boy with intimidating eyes yet the most childish face of them all had indeed become what he had been destined to become: a very powerful young man.

When Aomine went to bed that night, he thought that despite all the drama they went through in the past, despite their various rivalries, defeats and victories against each other, "rainbow troupe", as Momoi liked to call them these days, had managed to stay close as a group and support each other when needed. Being so independent and headstrong, he had not realised it, but indeed, just as Kise was not alone, he was not alone either. He felt especially happy that Kise had forgiven him rather easily.

But it was not just that Kise had forgiven Aomine relatively easily, Kise bounced back up relatively easily in general which stunned Aomine, though he should have expected. Kise had failed countless times before but had always managed to come back up stronger and the history was simply repeating itself. First of all, only 3 days after Aomine's awkward confession in front of cameras, Kise asked to play one-on-one, which puzzled Aomine and he shared his reluctance – not the mock kind he always played out but sincere reluctance – with Kise but only received mocking and challenges such that he was actually pumped up – and God, just how easy was it to pump him up like this – and as paparazzi took several pictures of them and actually a fangirl asked for their signatures at the end of it, they played one-on-one like everything was absolutely normal. Kise, flashed his signature brighter-than-the-sun smiles to everyone and anyone, seemed not to care in the least bit about the weird rumours that popped up online and the countless photos of him and Aomine doing anything and everything, mostly mundane; from eating together to going to the cinema to playing basketball...

Aomine had been concerned that Kise's work would be impacted, however, it seemed Kise took care of it as well; in the first photoshoot he attended after the whole media ordeal, upon hearing some of his co-models whispering about how Kise must have gotten the job using his connection and "God knows what he does to get those connections in the first place..." he had simply playfully winked at them, leaving them in total shock. He recalled this to Aomine, laughing as he told it, while they were watching an important pre-season game of Kagami's team from National Basketball League in Japan at Kise's house. It had been almost two weeks since Aomine's confession scandal and things had calmed down a bit by now but obviously the effect of them both being openly not heterosexual would continue on for years. Aomine was not laughing at Kise's story as Kise did,

"I cannot believe they utter crap like that... and wow, you manage it pretty well."

"I am used to backstabbing actually, it comes with the profession, just reached to higher levels after this whole debacle but I think I can deal with it. At this point, really, I find it amusing."

"Did you talk with your parents yet?" before Kise was about to answer, Kagami missed a free throw and both reacted immediately,

"I cannot believe that idiot! God!"

"Aw poor Kagamicchi, their lead is so slight too... It would be a nice way to increase the lead."

"Yeah, so did you talk with your parents?"

"Yeah, I did. We skyped face to face... It was very emotional. They told me that if I prefer or if I am ever bullied over here, I should come back home. They also told me that though they never expected and still had some... trouble accepting certain aspects of my sexuality and all, I was still their son and they loved me and they cherished me the most."

"That's nice."

"They were really worried. You know they already have this image of America as a scary place, it just flamed their fears and worries."

"I see... um... did they say anything about... you know... the latest turn of events?"

"You mean you declaring your love for me and my rejection of you in front of the whole media and thus for the whole world to hear, Aominecchi?"

"..."

"Silence? Really?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"Haha... Is there anything you could say?"

"Whatever, let's assume I did not ask."

"Aw... don't frown, don't frown. Aominecchi frowning is just too ugly, I like you when you are cute you know." Kise teased and then quickly continued,

"Well they didn't say anything outright. But I heard from my sister that my dad was especially mad and asked how was I friends with such a troublesome person and this and that... During our conversation too he was all like, ' _these are the hard times when you will understand who truly values you and who does not, you will find out who are your true allies, people may try to use you or look at you in improper ways_ ' kind of stuff and I think he might have been kind of referring to you as well..."

"Ah shit... There is no way to rectify this situation, is there?"

"Not really... Well, my sisters like you. Things will go back to normal in a few years I guess."

"Yeah I should be careful to not-- ha! What the heck was that?! Just what the heck is wrong with Kagami today? Why did he do that foul? God, such an idiot..."

"Don't be mean to him, I think it was unavoidable..."

"How was it unavoidable?! It is very avoidable, if you just do this and then like this..."

As Aomine moved his body in some weird motion while sitting on the couch, trying to show some kind of manoeuvre, and Kise thought just how funny it was that Aomine thought everybody had the same natural flow on the court that he had, he slowly muted out Aomine's words and soon as Aomine returned to be still and watching the game, Kise simply continued to stare at his face... The conversation he had with Kuroko a couple of days ago came to his mind as he stared at Aomine. They had talked about various things, mostly about how Kise was doing, and then Kuroko had asked, around the end of their conversation:

"What do you plan to do about Aomine-kun?"

"What do you mean?"

"About his feelings."

"Ah Kurokocchi... even you?! Please... just because I liked him once during middle school when I was a brat does not mean I still like him. I grew up. I am different. Plus, just because he is curious about bisexuality and feels close enough to me to try that out does not mean much on his side either."

"I don't understand why you say that."

"Why I say what? Which part?"

"Most but mainly that you liked him in middle school. I did not refer to that at all. Indeed, I had only referred to Aomine-kun's feelings, which are recent. Honestly, Kise-kun, based on the things you have been telling me and Aomine-kun has been telling me, I do not think that you two have ever been so close in your life before. Did you ever nurse him to health when he was ill during middle school? Or did he take care of you a whole night only because you are feeling depressed during our high school days?"

"You know, I have always been attentive to my friends if I felt they needed help. And he has always been protective... Remember the time he actually punched Haizaki? It is just his nor--"

"It is not his normal attitude Kise-kun, you know that very well. Yes, he cared about you and all of us and you did too, we all did; but in general, it almost always had something to do with basketball --and that was all Aomine-kun could think about most of the time anyway-- and it was never beyond the limits of what you do for a friend. But many moments you two shared over these months, did they have anything to do with basketball? Or do you think that, as you told me he did, Aomine-kun would, say, storm Midorima-kun's apartment because he couldn't reach him for a couple of hours and then hold him and listen to his worries all night long? He is not that caring, you know."

"Not for Midorimacchi, but he would do it for you..."

Kise himself was shocked at the tone the words came out of his mouth, it was a bit cold and a bit of a complaint too... Was he bothered by Aomine and Kuroko's relationship? He did not think so, for honestly, he respected and liked both of them so very dearly, and he had always had more skinship, more of a closer attachment to Kuroko in the past. But then perhaps, it was because he could not do so with Aomine; during their youth, there would be times that he had wished he could hug him the way he would suddenly hug Kuroko, or just declare his love for him similar to how he could do so jokingly with Kuroko – though both to Kuroko's displeasure. He had not realised of the pause that occurred but was woken from his thoughts by a silent chuckle from the other side of the phone; it seemed that Kuroko was surprised and amused at the comment than disturbed, which was a good thing, Kise supposed.

"He would perhaps do it for me, and he would do it for me during middle school too probably. But he would not do that for you during middle school."

Kise felt a little bit of a sting in his chest and thought that perhaps this was Kuroko's comeback to his own selfish grumbling but just as he was about to respond, Kuroko continued,

"Yet he does it for you now. And do you know something he never did for me, that he never does for me, that he will never do for me? Confess his love in front of the whole world. He did that for you. And I'm certain that if pressed, he would do it again. And it is not the only thing either: he does not avoid me out of jealousy and possessiveness when I am going out with someone. He does not send me selfies while he is travelling. He does not--"

"Kurokocchi..." Kise cut Kuroko's speech but could not find a thing to say in response either, Kuroko smiled on the other end of the phone.

"I guess what I am trying to say is: you are more than a friend to him already. And if he is saying that he loves you, you should take that as the truth and decide based on who Aomine-kun is now and his confession. You should not just disregard it because you think he is simply bicurious and a bit confused by your closeness, or that you once liked him, many many years ago. You should ask yourself: what do you feel about Aomine-kun? Aomine-kun that is in front of you now, that you know now, that confessed to you now."

Kise sighed as he realised that this particular question was something he had never asked himself: what did he feel about Aomine? Aomine who he knew now. Aomine who cared more for him than he ever did in the past. Aomine who confessed his love to him. Aomine whose cheeks would turn to a lovely shade of red whenever teased about his feelings and desires for Kise... Aomine who sometimes, whenever he thought that Kise was not looking, would stare at him with a little sadness and a little yearning, something in his gaze peculiarly content and discontent at the same time, a little peaceful and a little upset... Kise realised that he had avoided the matter all this time perhaps subconsciously but surely specifically and specially, and he was not sure if he was ready to tackle it. So he said, with a particularly amused voice,

"Oh my, Kurokocchi, so you know things like ' _bicurious_ ' huh? But then you are still house mates with Kagamicchi right? Even though both of you surely earn enough to live on your own!"

Kuroko sighed at that,

"I see, Kise-kun, you don't want to talk about this. I respect that as it is your life. But let me tell you this, as a friend of both of you: stop being stuck in the past or in your own worries and insecurities. Instead, think about him now, think about his feelings, and ask yourself how you feel about that. If you still decide to reject him, please reject him completely and thoroughly so that he can move on. It is not that easy to get over from your first love. You should let him, help him move on because you are his friend too."

And at that precise moment, Kise realised for the first time in the recent months since Aomine had confessed to him, just how terrifying the idea of Aomine moving on was. What would it mean? Would it mean that he would care less about Kise? That he would spend less time with Kise? That he would never blush at the playful comments of Kise? As worries flooded his mind and the reality of being worried over this frustrated him, he muted all the thoughts in his mind and decided to ignore this whole statement as much as he could, and he said, playfully, as if he had not heard a single word Kuroko uttered just a second ago,

"So, you and Kagamicchi, heterosexual life partners or what?"

Kuroko chuckled at Kise's childish urge to ignore what he had said, so he decided to be equally playful,

"Perhaps."

"Hehehe... Huh? Wait! You said 'perhaps'?! Kurokocchi! What's going on?"

As Kise reminisced about his conversation with Kuroko while staring at Aomine so intently and intensely now, his line of thought as well as sight were both shattered simultaneously with Aomine suddenly jumping. Turning to regard the TV, Kise realised the reason,

"You saw that finger roll? That was good! Hey, would you be able to copy that?"

"Ah... I would need to see again, I think I missed it."

"What? Kise where were you looking?! Anyway, Tetsu records all of Kagami's matches, we could get the video from him. You should learn to master it."

"Why?"

"Because I need to see it in a real court and block it."

"Huh?"

"Ah, why is it so hard for you to understand the simplest things? I am sure the next time we go to Japan and when I play against Kagami, he'll use that shit because it  _is_  pretty good. So you learn how to copy it in advance, we do it during our one-on-one's, and when I face Kagami doing it I block him like it's a breeze, and he will be oh so burned... Ah, he will be shocked. It will be a lovely sight."

"You are so childish sometimes you know that Aominecchi..."

"Shut up."

"Interesting that you do not think you could block it outright though... lacking self-confidence these days? Surely it could not be the case?"

"Well someone has been attacking my self-esteem relentlessly these past few months. But no it is not an issue of self-confidence, I think I should be able to block it even without trying it out before, but I want to be sure. Being ready is good too."

Kise giggled as Aomine sat back down on the couch and lazily continued watching the game. He felt the line of thought he had before resurfacing yet he really was not ready to welcome it, so instead he sneaked a little closer to Aomine on the couch and placed his head on Aomine's shoulder,

"Kise, what are you doing?"

"I am tired..."

"Go take a nap or something then... you are not watching the game properly anyway."

"But I want to stay here and watch the game... and this couch is too small for me to take a nap while you are sitting. And I am fine like this."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. This is comfortable."

"Whatever."

Aomine said and Kise thought that indeed, Aomine's flushed cheeks donning a beautiful shade of red was a charming sight to see. He wanted to continue seeing it... always.

 


	18. Chapter 18

"I am flying early tomorrow morning, when will you be arriving?"

"Oh, I am not coming to Orlando."

Aomine almost dropped the ball he was dribbling; it was a cool night of late September and the two were alone in the shabby old streetball court, which was a miracle in itself because really, every time they played or went out together in the last few weeks, people would catch up with them, take photographs...

"What do you mean you are not coming?"

Aomine held the ball under his arm now as he waited for Kise to finish drinking water so that he could respond; their one-on-one today had been particularly intense as Aomine was very hyped up about his upcoming first pre-season game. Kise wiped his wet lips with the back of his hand, even though he had drank almost all of his water and even though it had been about 5 minutes since they finished their game, his breathing was still a little hard and heavy,

"I mean I am not coming... I'll watch it from home."

"Why?"

"I have a job."

"You have a job? You took a job on the day of my first pre-season game this year?"

"I could not help it, it was important..."

"It was more important?"

Kise sat on the ground and leaned his back towards the fence that surrounded the small court and stared at Aomine a bit playfully,

"Don't tell me you are jealous Aominecchi? Or perhaps you feel... left out? Ignored? Aw, but I can guarantee you, you are liked..."

"You are so annoying..." Aomine turned his back to Kise and executed a smooth jump shot, Kise thought that Aomine was indeed like a feline... such smooth movements... he shook his head slightly to clear his mind,

"I got a last minute request from a famous photographer last week. He has an upcoming exhibition in December and he wants to photograph me as well... He is famous for his conceptual portrait works and though he rarely does fashion photography, if he does, it is always for big fashion houses and is hailed as a masterpiece..."

Aomine was indifferent to Kise's words though, he went to grab the ball from the ground and executed yet another jump shot, without any response to Kise in form of words or a gaze, so Kise continued with a little quieter tone,

"You know... since the whole... 'ordeal', I am just known as ' _that blond Japanese model Aomine loves_ '. I became the ' _tabloid material model_ ' which is really not good for my career. During August, the marketing company that handles the launch of the new Jean Paul Gaultier male fragrance was considering me to be the model for the Japanese market and possibly the US. They sent a rejection right after the 'news' broke out... They said that they did not want somebody who was a ' _tabloid star_ '. That's how big name brands look at you when you are only talked of, not because of your talents but who loves you or who you sleep with..."

Kise smiled as Aomine executed yet another jump shot and missed this one. It was odd for Aomine to miss. Instead of going after the ball he sighed dejectedly and Kise smiled albeit a bit sadly,

"I want to go to your game you know. I like watching you play Aominecchi. But we are not children anymore. Life is not all about basketball. Being in this photographer's exhibition is a great chance for me; to show off my skills... I am really thankful that he thought of me in the first place. I guess he does not care so much about the rumours..."

Aomine walked towards Kise and sat near him, he leaned his back to the fence as well, held his head up high and closed his eyes... in a voice tinged with regret, he said,

"I am sorry..."

Kise chuckled quietly and moved a bit closer, leaning his head on Aomine's shoulder,

"Nah... don't worry. Getting back up after being pushed down and showing the whole world just how amazing I am is my speciality. And I will fawn over you from home like your number one fanboy, so don't worry. You go beat 'em up!"

Aomine chuckled at Kise's voice which mimicked that of a pumped up child in the last few words he uttered... They stayed liked that for a bit and Aomine thought that he could stay like that forever.

The worst part of Kise not being able to attend the Orlando game was that he had another appointment that conflicted with the next pre-season game as well: it was to be held in Toronto and Kise had thought previously that since he would be going to all other pre-season games, he would skip that one, so months before he had taken a job the next day of the game. So they would not be seeing each other for approximately a week, " _so what?_ " Kise thought, " _not being able to watch the game in the venue sucks, but it is okay, he will be back, and then the game in the second week of October is a home game, so I can go that one..._ " With his mind reassured, he focused on his work and the series of photoshoots with the photographer went very well; it was an especially nice experience for him because for once in weeks he was not ridiculed on the set by anyone nor did anybody started whispering when he entered the set. He had missed working in a drama-free environment for quite some time now; most commercial sets and photoshoots would always be a little dramatic, especially if they involved any pompous stars and a little gossiping was the norm, but since the little scandal Aomine pulled, his work environment had become unbearably full of angst. People were ready to bite him and this had made him bitter and more sarcastic at work; he did not like to be so because he really did not like confrontation in the first place. Hence, this little change of air helped him a lot. When they wrapped up, he couldn't help but ask the photographer why the man wanted to include him in the last minute like this... he had smiled,

" _I don't know... I just thought that you had such an ethereal beauty but the drama that surrounded you was so profane... I thought I wanted to see you for myself. You seemed not to be the kind of person who likes the viewfinder of paparazzi and I wanted to see you through my own viewfinder._ "

Kise thought that this was just too cryptic but was happy to wrap up the job with good results. On the other side, Aomine's games in both Orlando and Toronto went amazing, so amazing that some people finally and actually started talking about his basketball than his orientation and infatuation with Kise. After seeing some of the positive coverage on the TV, Kise thought that it would be a good idea to check the web; though at first he had taken it like a joke, after some time the endless stream of rumours on the web had tired him so much, he had stopped checking his social network accounts completely. This was a well needed therapy to calm down his nerves and not upset his already existing frustrations. He was mistaken though, to think that just because some sports channels reported on Aomine's amazing play that seemed to focus not just on his personal skill-set but put forward a much more balanced and well-executed teamplay, the web would follow the pursuit. It had not. Instead, Kise's twitter account had just been flooded with various pictures of Aomine out partying with his teammates, with some women accompanying them. BuzzFeed had prepared a special page titled " _10 Craziest Party Photos of Aomine Daiki_ ".

" _So what if he went out partying? It is so normal..._ " Kise mumbled to himself but he was surprised that Aomine who had not been so cheerful in a long time looked so happily smiling in some of the pictures, " _perhaps he bounces back up pretty fast too... huh..._ " he thought and felt that strangely he was a little displeased about that. He was not the only one displeased apparently, a famous celebrity blogger wrote,

" _And he is back to his usual antics again... Always trying to grab media's attention. He is not a bisexual man who is hopelessly in love with his gay best friend; he is an attention whore._ "

Kise, alongside most fangirls who were either crying rivers or crying that these all must be lies, felt that this was just too much; Aomine surely was not a person who did all he did because he wanted media attention, if anything he did not like the media attention. Though obviously the photograph of Aomine drinking champagne from the cleavage of some busty woman did not help much convincing the public.

Most importantly though, somehow, deep inside him, Kise felt something prickled, something hurt, something stung; " _are you really so frivolous?_ " he wanted to ask Aomine but the reason why he might be asking the question in the first place scared him so much, he preferred to simply swallow the question and not face it even himself.

A night before Aomine's return to the city, Kise decided that he would not look at anything related to two for at least a few months... " _they should forget about us in a few months_ " he desperately wanted to believe.

When Aomine returned and called him –and calling Kise was actually the first thing Aomine did before even he was out of the airport– Kise did not answer the call. A childish rebellion built up inside him and a sense of entitlement, a sense of power flowed in his veins; he honestly wanted to punish and scare Aomine a little yet he himself was not sure why, or rather he preferred to think he was unsure why. Aomine later sent a message, asking if they were still on for the one-on-one for that weekend. He also mentioned just how tired he was and why the heck was Kise adding all these one-on-ones to his already packed schedule. They had planned it before Aomine had left for pre-season games and Kise knew all the complaining Aomine did was a farce; it had always been a bit of a farce. Aomine liked being in charge, Aomine liked being the idol, Aomine liked being the lazy one, Aomine liked being the reluctant giver than the enthusiastic asker, Aomine liked being the one asked out and not to ask out... Asking if they were still on for the "one-on-one" was Aomine's way of asking out, it was Aomine's way of saying "don't forget that we are playing this weekend"... But for the love of God, he could angrily blurt out his feelings in front of the whole world but he could not tell Kise that he still wanted to meet? That he still wanted to play one-on-one without adding mock complaints and a farcical reluctance...

And just why, why was Kise so pissed at this now? This was how Aomine had always been and frankly Kise had found this rather endearing over the years; in any other day, he would simply giggle at Aomine's inner awkwardness and external smugness, and respond with a " _nooo, Aominecchi, you promised, you can't cancel it now!_ " alongside the usual pout and jokingly strained voice. However, for an unfathomable reason to Kise that was actually quite fathomable for anyone, he replied Aomine's text, about 3 hours later (and this was an odd thing for Kise to do) with four simple words and no emoticons – and this was also an odd thing for Kise to do:

"Sure let's cancel it."

Upon seeing the message while having dinner Aomine almost choked on his food and dialed Kise's phone right away to ask if Kise was sick but no, apparently he was not sick, and no, he was serious, and yes, they could cancel it. Stuck in a bind Aomine tried to rectify the situation but this was something he really was not used to face,

"Well... I can make it maybe. If I rest a lot and there is still a day till weekend, so I should be--"

"Don't bother, it's okay."

"You know I would not bother myself if it was  _really_  a bother..."

"Yeah, but really, you don't have to force yourself. I was not in the mood either."

Kise knew just how much his words confused Aomine and at the silences and stutters he heard, he felt empowered. He felt like he was making Aomine pay back but for what was still uncertain, or at least he preferred to think it was, and it felt good somehow. By next day though, the sweet taste of revenge had abandoned his mouth and left a bitterness behind. A deep sense of loneliness, and regret, and displeasure built up inside him. He had to work too and it only made things worse; there was nothing nice about trying to keep up a happy smile as you heard snide comments about you being whispered around as if you were not feeling so terrible already. As he was about to leave the small studio where he had just shot a catalogue with two female models, one of them whispered to her manager,

" _Hah, did you see how his smile wavered at the end of the shoot? I bet he is all butthurt about Aomine. What did he think, a star like Aomine Daiki would chase him around?! The guy is a playboy anyway._ "

All the way home he thought about it, indeed, had he thought at least subconsciously that Aomine would chase him continuously? Or did Aomine chase him in the first place? Was that really how it was? He had been so used to chasing after Aomine, whether really meaning it or as part of their fanboy-idol antics, he had never realised if they had ever indeed switched positions. At the end he decided that no, it was not the case, it had never been the case, it could never be the case; for Aomine Daiki was not a man who would "chase", even if he was sincere about his feelings the way he simply left Kise and started avoiding him when Kise started dating John was a good example of this. Aomine Daiki would not chase, he would simply stop paying attention. Kise was still the one chasing, he must have been, even now, even if it was Aomine who kept declaring his love... His line of thought was interrupted with the vibration of his phone. He realised it was Aomine, he had called earlier that morning too and Kise had not picked it up... " _This is childish_ " Kise thought, " _I should stop this..._ " he received the call,

"Oi! Why are you picking up so late? You didn't receive my call this morning either..."

"Ah I didn't hear the phone then you know... then when I realised I was already at work. So I could not call."

"And now? What are you doing now?"

Thoughts flashed through Kise's mind, it was Aomine's day off, what if he wanted to meet? Though Kise wanted to put an end to this childish game he was pulling, for some reason he did not want to meet Aomine, " _a tiny white lie won't hurt anybody_ " he thought as he replied,

"I just got out of the studio. But I have to attend an exhibit in SoHo now."

"Ah... is that so... I thought you would be home..."

Why did Aomine sound so disappointed and why did Kise feel pulled by those words, he was indeed very close home, about to enter the street of his home,

"No, I am really busy today, I have other stuff to do at late evening too. I am really just hoping that I can wrap up everything and reach home before midnight."

"Um... oka- ha! Wait, what the heck?! Kise?!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Oh, well, you will see what I mean if you lift your face up and look forward."

Kise knew what these words could mean and felt embarrassment veil his face, indeed as expected there he was: Aomine Daiki was standing right near his car parked right in front of Kise's building. An involuntary "Shit!" leaked between Kise's lips,

"Oh, 'shit', indeed you little liar. Why the fuck were you lying to me?"

"Wait... What are _you_ doing in front of my building in the first place Aominecchi? I don't remember inviting you."

"Says the man who literally camps in front of my doorstep whenever he feels like it. God damn it Kise, you have been acting all weird, not wanting to come watch my games, not wanting to play one-on-one, and you talk in this weird tone. I was worried."

"Why are you shouting into the phone?! Don't shout. We are outside."

"I know that." Aomine hung up quickly and stuffed his phone into his pocket forcefully while Kise, pouting, put his phone back into the messenger bag that was hanging on his shoulder. He had walked the distance between them and they paused and looked at each other for a second. Kise sighed dejectedly, there was nowhere to run now. He knew it.

"You want to come upstairs, I presume?"

He said as he motioned to the building and Aomine just nodded. Neither uttered a single word as they moved inside the building and climbed the stairs to Kise's floor. When they entered Kise's flat, the silence continued. Kise acted as though Aomine was not there at all, he put his bag away and threw himself to the couch as Aomine came and sternly stood in front of him.

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing."

"You don't reply to my calls."

"I missed a few of them... so what."

"You cancelled a one-on-one with me."

"You, yourself was reluctant and said you were tired. I just showed respect to your wishes."

"You are not using emoji when replying to my texts any more."

"Okay that is really... I mean are you seriously asking about that?"

Aomine sighed, took his phone out, fiddled with it a bit and then showed the screen to Kise; a series of messages from Kise were laid in front of him and every single one contained on average 4 emoji or kaomoji. Aomine swiped the screen to show even older messages but the colourful faces and elaborate kaomoji continued to stick out.

"Fine. I like using emoji. And kaomoji. I know that already."

"It is not about emoji or kaomoji. You know it."

"What is this about then?"

"Why are you... acting like this towards me?"

"Like what?"

"You are cold."

"I am not."

"Yes you are! You never avoid me like this..."

"Oh yeah, I forgot, avoiding people is your forte right?"

"Why are you so bitter?"

"God I don't know... I don't know. Why might I be so bitter Aominecchi?! Perhaps because of the fact that my whole life has been turned into a big rumour-fest thanks to your little confession while you are just too damn busy drinking champagne from F-cups of some woman!"

Aomine was utterly shocked and he was not alone in that: Kise could not believe that he just blurted it out like this. He quickly got control of his emotions back, chuckled and continued,

"I... I am just tired. Alright? That's it. That's all."

"It is a lie."

"Huh?"

"Not technically a lie but... That photo that has been circulating the web these past few days, Jane asked about it too. It is indeed me and well I did that. But 2 years ago. It is an old photo; some jerk put it on the web now saying I did after the game in Orlando at a bar... and it just got viral."

"Ah... well you did party... there were quite a few women with you guys."

"Yeah, girlfriends of teammates, some people from the staff. For example, the blond they shot me with outside the bar in Toronto is actually coach's daughter. She was feeling unwell and coach asked me to escort her out as he was held up by some fans. He trusts me these days, says that I am... uh... too... lovestruck to do anything... um, funny."

"Ah... I see... Hah. I guess I felt frustrated that you were doing so well while I was not. Silly me, huh?" Kise chuckled though with a strained face, nothing changed on Aomine's serious face, instead he responded with a crisp voice,

"Kise, I love you. And I am sorry, I really am, that I blurted my feelings out to public so insensitively. And I am sorry you are being heckled because of it."

"It is okay. I know that. It is just that I was--"

"Let me finish." Aomine said cutting Kise's sentence and sat onto the table that was facing the couch. He looked straight to Kise's eyes as he continued,

"I love you. And you rejected me. And to be honest, I did not have any relationship, any one-night stand, any affair with any woman or man for a few months now. But I am a healthy adult. And you rejected me. The fact that I love you does not change those two things. I could have partied as well. I am frustrated too at this whole thing; I could have wanted to let some steam off. I could have slept with a woman or man, I guess. I could have really drank champagne from a busty lady's breasts. The fact that I love you does not change that you rejected me, I am single, and I have needs as anybody does. I can say sorry a thousand times if you would like, for my mistake that caused you so much trouble; but if I sleep with a woman or man tomorrow, if I start going out with somebody tomorrow, if I fall in love with somebody else tomorrow, I am not going to say sorry for that. I will not be sorry for that. Because we are not together. You are free to date or sleep with anybody you like and I am too."

Kise smiled as he got up; truthfully, he did not want to get up, he was feeling to unstable, he could feel his legs wobble a bit and he did his best to not let Aomine catch this. However, he felt the need to run away from Aomine's gaze so badly that he couldn't find any other way but to stand up. Aomine's words and gaze had turned into a thousand thorns and pricked his bare chest; he felt so much pain, he could not understand why he was feeling so much pain, almost physical pain, from just words. " _What if_ "s filled up his mind so quickly:

"W _hat if Aomine falls in love with somebody else?_ "

"W _hat if Aomine holds somebody else?_ "

" _What if Aomine cries for somebody else?_ "

" _What if Aomine hugs somebody else so gently as he did to me?_ "

" _What if Aomine gazes so intently and intensely like that but at somebody else?_ "

He felt hate towards that "s _omebody else_ ".

" _There must not be 'somebody else'. There must not be._ " was all the inner depths of his soul wished; and they wished it so vocally, so loudly that Kise could almost hear it in his ears. His face though, showed nothing of this grand inner turmoil as he stood up... he only smiled,

"I understand that already Aominecchi. Please..." he chuckled as he continued, "I wouldn't want it to be any other way. We are both adults."

He moved towards kitchen quickly, just to escape that moment, that feeling, that burden,

"Now, do you want to eat anything? I am starving... How about sandwiches? I'll make myself one."

"Are you running away?" Aomine said, without moving an inch and the tone of his voice had not changed even a little bit either,

"Please Aominecchi... Why would I run away? You are not the type to chase anyway, are you?" Kise laughed as he entered the kitchen, "You are the type to run away and I am the type to chase. I know that very well, for I have chased after you for a long, long time..."

Aomine simply replied,

"Sometimes one is so fond of being chased, the chase itself becomes so joyful and thrilling that one runs away solely to be chased, in that kind of a case, who is the real chaser? I do chase after you... you know. Especially now. But in my own way."

Hearing these words soothed the chaos in Kise a little, he could at least breath a bit easier and felt stronger on his legs. He stared at the counter and the knife in his hands and repeated, almost mumbling, Aomine's words softly; like it was a medication, it indeed soothed him a bit. And at that moment, the realisation dawned on him, he closed his eyes momentarily and thought,

" _What do I feel about him, you asked, Kurokocchi? As if you did not realise, you must have, it is so obvious that one has to deliberately ignore it to not realise... I really, really, really like him... don't I? Ah... great._ "

"Make a sandwich for me too... I haven't eaten anything since morning. Kise? Oi, what are you doing? Meditating with a knife in your hand? That's batshit crazy you know."

Hearing this Kise knew, Kise knew that Aomine had returned back to his usual self, to console Kise, to reassure Kise, to let Kise have some space, to let Kise breath easier, to not press on him, to not push him, to not force him... and he felt thankful for that. And upon opening his eyes and seeing Aomine's face so close, he felt shy.

And for the first time in a long long time, Aomine saw Kise's cheeks bashfully redden, donning the blush like a beautiful adornment, and Aomine thought that Kise was beautiful...

"Sure, I'll make one for you too." Kise said, smiling.

 


	19. Chapter 19

Kise watched Aomine enter the street where they always met after the home games; he was wearing a knit cap and glasses and most were ignoring him like they always did. Kise could never understand how Aomine became invisible to almost everyone with such a simple disguise. He could recognise Aomine regardless of the outfit or accessory, he was sure of it and he also knew that he was not alone in that, some fans would also recognise Aomine now and then. Especially hardcore female fans. And this very thing was happening again in front of Kise's eyes that night and honestly, it was not rare even if it was not frequent either: two young girls barely in their twenties approached Aomine a little shyly, asked him something smiling, he nodded and answered them with a beaming smile. One of the girls rummaged through her bag and took out something, Kise could not discern it well in the darkness of the night but it looked like a pen or a marker, and soon Aomine was signing the shirts of the girls. They were wearing jerseys probably, again, Kise could not discern very well but assumed so. What he could discern were Aomine's smiles, girls' constant loud giggling, and just how large the chest of one of them was. He felt frustrated and angry, " _he must have liked that,_ " he thought, " _pretty young girls fawning over him... with large breasts too..._ " and he regretted his own thoughts. How could he be so vulgar? Why was he gazing at the breasts of a young woman in the first place? Why was he feeling like this? He did not like the jealousy inside him, it looked ugly and displeased him to no end.

He broke away his gaze and focused his eyes on the pavement. How many times had he seen Aomine approached by female fans? Many, many times. But he had never felt insecure like this. It had never made him doubt himself. His feelings. Aomine's feelings. The insecurity invading his chest made it so unbearably heavy that he felt suffocated. The questions that had been pouring down on his mind in the last few days started their assault again... The initial realisation of his feelings had soothed and relieved him a little but soon a million different questions had come and filled up the little breathing space he had and he spent the recent nights sleepless and in deep thought.

How can you accept someone that you have rejected so vehemently before?

How can you show that you accept them now? How do you make them believe? How do you take this thing that was so carefully pushed behind, put in multiple boxes to be hidden, deliberately ignored again and again... and just expose it for all world to see?

And in the first place, should you?

Did Aomine loving him and him loving Aomine back mean that they had to start a relationship? Did Aomine have to know of Kise's feelings? Or perhaps, was it for the best to keep the things as they were? For the idea of starting a relationship was what scared Kise the most and somewhere deep inside he knew, he knew that this fear itself was one of the reasons why he had acted so oblivious to his own feelings towards Aomine. What would happen if they started dating? What would happen if they became lovers? Could Aomine really become lovers with a man? Could he handle a relationship? He had been so frivolous all his life, could he really commit to a relationship? Could Kise commit to a relationship? And they would be under so much spotlight, it would affect both their careers so much, people would talk about it so much... Could they endure all that easily? Could they overcome the rumours and the constant attention? And if... if things did not go right for this or that reason, what would happen to them? Would they grow to dislike each other? Would they grow to feel contempt and hate against each other? Would they grow apart? Would they become strangers? This was especially terrifying for Kise, if there was one thing he did not want to lose, that he felt he absolutely could not bear to lose, it was Aomine Daiki, his friend. Even though the idea of Aomine Daiki as a lover was very alluring, he felt that he could not accept it if it came with the tremendous risk of losing his friend.

"Oi! What's so interesting about the pavement?"

"Huh? Ah... Aominecchi. You are done with the girls?"

"Oh you saw that? They were fans... They just congratulated me for my win and asked me to sign their jerseys."

"I see... well you were in great form today. Your play has changed slightly, seems you are following your coach's advice, huh? And the girls were really cute... They giggled so much. You looked nice with them... You know how everyone says you are short for a Power Forward, but with them you looked so tall. Near me, you don't look so tall..."

"..."

"Oh and the brunette one, she was so pretty and busty too, wasn't she? She looked starstruck too. If you had asked her number--"

"I don't get you..."

"You don't get what?"

"Weren't you the one who lectured me and said that I should stop looking at a woman's chest right away, how objectifying and disrespectful it was to them? You said that god knows how many times so I realised I was being a jerk and stopped it. And now you are doing it? And why in the first place you are mentioning height and stuff?! There are many tall women as well. Who cares if people like to imagine couples as this tall buff man with a pretty and tiny girl along, not all couples are like that and they don't need to be... And just... don't try to hitch me up with people please. Just because I like you and you don't reciprocate, you don't have to help me move on so  _actively_..."

 

"You are right... Wow I was acting like a jerk, wasn't I? Ah... I am sorry. I lose it too... sometimes, you know."

Aomine could not understand Kise's ongoing obsession with women and him; was it jealousy? He surely did not look jealous. It could be insecurity or both or many other things but if there was a single aspect of Kise's mind that Aomine did not understand, it was how he thought of romance and love, and a thousand different façades that Kise could don did not help at all... So Aomine decided to choose the path of allowing more space and time to Kise, to figure things out on his own. They were walking to the pub they frequented for post-game celebrations and Kise had this broken smile on his face, like a kid who just ate something distasteful but kept smiling to not sadden his mother who had worked hard to cook that particular meal. It was painful and strange to see Kise like this and Aomine felt helpless. Since he could not resolve the issue with words, he chose to at least show his care through action and wrapped his arm behind Kise's neck to his shoulder, like he often did when they were in court. Kise's smile slightly changed at the gesture and he sneaked a little bit closer to Aomine; the nights in October had become a bit chilly and Aomine's warm body was secretly very alluring to Kise.

They continued struggling in this limbo for in the coming days. It was tiring, depressing, and frustrating for both of them yet both tried their best to not show it to the other and act normal. When finally, it was time for the new NBA season to start and the first match of Aomine's team was against the other current heavyweight of their division, Boston Celtics, Kise was trying his best to focus on his work and basketball to ignore the open questions of romance that tortured him day and night. He was hyped up about the game, this would be the first official game in which Aomine would show his new more team oriented gameplay and also he knew that Aomine wanted to open the season in a particularly spectacular way, partly to take the breaths away with his basketball so that media could focus more on his basketball than this private life.

Tabloids and twitter fandom were resilient to not leave Aomine alone though, as Kise learnt, the first time after so many weeks he checked his twitter. It was only two days before the game and Aomine was photographed, apparently by some random driver, in his car with a lovely lady sitting near him, as they waited at a red light. She was wearing large sunglasses and had a hat on so little could be seen of her face but she seemed a little plump and one could also see her touching Aomine's cheek with her hand. What was she doing? Caressing his cheek? Pinching his cheek? Context was completely lost but considering how Aomine did not like others touching him, bar a few close friends, she must have been really close to him. Then there was another photograph, from the same day, of the same woman and Aomine, as they entered the building where Aomine's flat was located. She had her arm wrapped around Aomine's and was very close to him, her figure touching his, and Kise could not help realise that she was indeed a little plump with a full bust. She was much shorter than Aomine and one couldn't discern her face much again, and her hair was nowhere to be seen probably in a bun and covered by the hat, still she looked pretty.

Aomine almost never took women home. Aomine almost never allowed others to touch him casually in public, unless he was actually making out with somebody. You could see him french kissing a model outside a bar, but you would never actually see him holding hands with someone walking back home. It was bizarre yet it was very Aomine: he liked enjoying himself a lot but he preferred to keep his boundaries tight as well, not allowing too many people in. Knowing this and seeing the photos, realising the comfortable and peaceful skinship between the Aomine in the photographs and the mysterious woman, Kise resigned himself to defeat; he had waited far too long, he had been too indecisive. This was inevitable. Kuroko had said that it took time and effort to be over your first love, but that was not really the case all the time or for everyone, was it? And it had been months since Aomine first confessed to him... But perhaps this was for the best. Perhaps this was how they could save and maintain their friendship for many, many more years, instead of diving into the adventure of love that could lead to their separation ultimately.

Like a reluctant stalker, full of guilt, full of pain, full of internal conflict, yet also full of curiosity, Kise went through different shots of Aomine with the mystery woman that paparazzi and random strangers had captured and posted on the web. He was a little ticked off that this could shadow Aomine's grand play in the upcoming game, at least in terms of media attention, but perhaps he was wrong. A sports blogger wrote,

" _Let's admit it, all of us breathed easier after seeing Aomine with a busy beauty and learning that the photos were legit and new, not fake like the ones a few weeks ago. I am not a homophobe but really, Aomine being gay? Can anybody imagine him with another man? I can't. Frankly, I don't want to imagine it either. I specially don't want to imagine what it would do to him on the court. Now that he is with a sexy lady, let's hope that he does not spend all his energy in the bedroom and spares some for us to see this Friday night._ "

Kise found himself completely overpowered with red hot fury that he wanted to punch something or rather somebody. How was that not homophobic? How could the gender of who he loved make a man any less of a man? Why was it that for "pretty boy" Kise they had all written previously that it was " _obvious_ ", it was " _expected_ " to be gay, to be with a man, but God forbid, " _who could even imagine_ " Aomine with a man?! Though, it was over anyway wasn't it...? So what was the use of getting angry now? What was the use of being mad at this point? They would probably forget Aomine's confession in a couple of months, specially if Aomine gave more photo opportunities with his new lover and he would surely do that; he had never been one to hide his love life and sexual escapades.

Kise had taken the next day off as Aomine had earlier said that he would be off too. However, he did not receive any calls from Aomine to meet up or for anything else, despite checking his phone on an hourly basis like an addict. They had not seen each other for a few days and apart from a text message Aomine sent the day before, asking Kise to keep the Friday night after the game clear, they had not talked at all. Was he with his girlfriend? Was she a "girlfriend" to him? Not just a one night stand or a casual date, but a girlfriend? It seemed so, as Kise learnt the reason why Aomine had not called him or asked to meet that day; internet was buzzing with the new pictures of Aomine, arm in arm with the same lady, as they entered multiple luxury brand shops in Madison Avenue. This was again very odd for Aomine, who almost only had one night stands and did not even date in general, for him even taking a potential lover to a restaurant was too much to bother. Yet here he was taking his new paramour to one shop after another... and Aomine hated shopping.

Not much could be seen of the mystery lady's face again as she was wearing yet another large pair of sunglasses, but she still looked stunning: her red lips shining with the dark toned lipstick, hair covered fully within a cute glittering red bonnet, high collared double breasted black wool coat draping over hear and settling beautifully on her figure, and black knee high Dr Martens boots. She looked stylish and youthful yet a tad bit elegant.

" _I can't believe he left Kise out in the cold to be sugar daddy of some young woman..._ " a fangirl tweeted, while another complained in a tumblr ask to Kise,

" _This is what happens when you do not accept the best man you could ever be with. Are you happy now? Are you?!_ "

It is not easy to start a relationship with someone when you have serious insecurities and doubts, it is even worse when that someone is a dear friend and you have to be very careful to not hurt your friendship with them... and the added pressure from fans and all kinds of outsiders did not help at all. What was it to these people who Kise or Aomine liked? What was it to these people who they dated or they decided to date? Kise felt so frustrated that he simply wanted everything to disappear. If he could just turn back the clock. If he could set up a better boundary at the beginning and not fall too deep in the warmth of Aomine, if he could keep himself away from that deep, dark blue part of the ocean that kept calling for him... if he could have resisted. When he went to bed it was only about 2 pm and as he forced himself to sleep he wished that things could just turn to normal when he woke up, he wished that he could wake up with only friendship and a relentless admiration for Aomine, this painful love gone and nowhere to be seen, and so that he could feel honestly, sincerely happy for his friend for finding a girlfriend...

Instead, he woke up to a chilling bed at 7 pm. There was not a single sound in the room. He had accidentally kicked away the duvet and his whole body was freezing cold now. He was alone. In a single second, the loneliness turned into a heavy, giant, invisible stone and crushed him underneath. Why did he have to be the indecisive one? Why did he have to be the one to doubt? Why did he have to be the one to think about all the possible good outcomes and bad outcomes? Why didn't Aomine think of any of these when he blurted his love out? Why didn't Aomine care? Why had he forced himself to smile and not just pour down all his frustrations into Aomine's lap and see how he deals with all this crap?! An anger was kindled by the loneliness and he realised that if he was afraid of one thing the most, it was losing Aomine and staying friends right now would inevitably lead to that for the Aomine who he did not want to lose was not  _"just"_  a friend. They had not been just friends. For months, they had been so much closer. He had shared so much more than he would share with another friend. He had desired and loved and appreciated this man so much more than he did of any friend. And he could not, he would not be able to bear going back to how they were in their high school years or something... it would be the same as losing him.

Kise quickly got up, wore the first things he could find in his wardrobe, grabbed his bag, and stormed out of his apartment. As he drove his car to Aomine's place, he was not thinking, for if he had stopped for a second to think he would never do this. It was not appropriate. So he opted to not think about it. When he reached Aomine' doorstep, despite the many times he rung the bell and knocked the door, nothing could be heard from inside. Thinking that Aomine must still be out with his lover, Kise did what he did best in these kind of situations and started camping at the doorstep of the flat. He did not know what he would say to Aomine, especially if he returned with his lover... but he felt that he had to see Aomine. No matter what, he had to see him.

He had waited for about a little past an hour when the elevator's doors opened and a tired Aomine came out, seeing the blond in his doorstep he was a little surprised but not much fazed, as the sight was not a rare one after all... But what happened next was very surprising for Aomine Daiki: Kise stood up from the doorstep where he was sitting and yelled with a face crimson with anger and a voice sharp and brutal,

"We need to talk. Open the goddamn door."

"Uh.. huh... o-okay."

Aomine opened the door silently and the moment they were inside and the door was closed Kise stomped towards the living room while yelling,

"I hate you. I hate you Aominecchi. I fucking hate you. You are the worst. Do you know that you are worst?"

Aomine followed him to the living room calmly though he was utterly confused,

"Okay, I see. So why do you hate me now?"

"Because I love you."

For Aomine, it felt as though he was punched and kissed passionately at the same time, he was not sure how to respond and though his mouth stayed open no words could come out,

"Why... why is everything so easy for you? You can say that you love so easily... Why is it that you are so talented? Why are you so stunning? I try my best to reach you and you... It feels like you are just flying further away from my reach. Yet you sing to me, you call to me... like a siren. I feel like you are just taunting me sometimes. Love is not easy Aominecchi. I know that. I lived that many times. It is not eternal either. It is not just between two people, the whole world will want to police you about it. Everyone will meddle. Yet you make it sound so easy... and you are so easy-going about it too. As though, you are fine without it too. Maybe you are... you have always been fine without it after all. You only need yourself and nobody else, right? Is there no flaw in your perfect self-confidence? I am so tired of you... I am so tired of loving you. I was so tired when it was a childish crush too and now that we are adults, it is even more complicated. What will people think? What will people say? Will you, a man who have been straight all his life, be able to desire and love me, a man, once the spark is gone? Will we be able to satisfy each other? What if we fall apart...? Will I never have the chance to play one-on-one against you then? Will we never go drinking after a game of yours? Will we stop talking to each other and grow apart? Why is it so hard?! Why does it feel like regardless of whichever option I choose, I am sacrificing you... that I am losing you... when that is the last thing I want to do."

Kise's voice was clear and sharp as he spoke but one could hear the fear and anxiety in his pauses, the tint of fragility was unhidden, he felt his legs wobble a little too when he finished talking and realised just how tired he was physically as well... The sleepless nights were taking their toll on him, he had a lot of work too in the past days, he was mentally strained to add to the list. He almost fell to the ground, sitting on the bare floor of the living room, then slowly pulled his legs closer to his body and hid his face on his own knees, like a baby in his mother's womb. As the initial shock wore off a little, Aomine sighed and moved closer to Kise, he slowly ruffled the long blond hair and caressed his head. Then he wrapped one of his arms around Kise's lower back, right around his waist, while his other arm squeezed through underneath the thighs, then he pulled the blond up a little and held him secure to his own torso,

"Ha... ah?! What the hell are you doing? Hey! Bring me down!"

"Your legs were wobbling."

"I am... just tired."

"I can see that."

Aomine slowly carried Kise to the sofa in the living, a couple steps was all it took, really, but for both of them these few moments felt so long... When he placed Kise in a sitting position on the sofa, Aomine knelt in front of him and held his hands in his own,

"Once, when we were teenagers, they asked about our ideal partners and you said that you would like somebody who will not tie you down. Then you had that... terrible experience apparently. And when I fell for you, you were already going out with somebody. You see... I am stupid and ignorant of love... I do not know well... I do not want to be forceful or pressure you, I do not want you to feel you are tied down or bound... and I could not come up with a way to reassure you of my feelings either. I saw and felt that you were having trouble, and I wanted to console you, but I didn't know how. I don't know how. You have more experience than me when it comes to love, it intimidates me a bit. I question... if we are to be together, could I really make you content? Make you satisfied? I am always unsure about that and it bothers me a lot. I knew that you were frustrated, that you were confused, that you were maybe jealous, and I hoped, I hoped so much that it would mean you feel deeply about me, that you desire me, that you need me romantically... but I did not know how to say it. And as if all this is not enough of a barrier, I am proud. I am so vain. You know this very well. My pride is so big, I cannot begin to explain you, even now as I am saying these, just how much I am actually afraid, how much I question myself, and just how painful and vexing it is to admit it..."

Aomine swallowed silently and Kise saw a slight wetness cover the dark blue orbs that looked at him intensely,

"But know this: I love you. I am sorry for not being able to reassure you, because I am myself so nervous yet I couldn't admit it... But perhaps, we can find a way out of our worries and fears... together?"

Aomine had emphasised the word "together" with a stronger tone as he said it and his grip on Kise's hands tightened too, Kise felt that he had never seen Aomine so innocently anxious in a long, long time, it was not like how he looked when he first confessed either... Kise smiled and leaned his head towards Aomine, touching their foreheads together he whispered,

"Perhaps."

They stayed like that for a few seconds and then it hit Kise, he abruptly pulled himself away, which was very shocking for Aomine and his then closed eyes opened large in response,

"Um... but what about your girlfriend?" Kise asked a little shyly, for he felt guilty; was he stealing somebody else's lover? Could this be counted as adultery?

"Huh? What 'girlfriend' are you talking about?"

"The girlfriend who you have been strutting around the city for the last two days of course... The whole world is talking about it. The 'mysterious girlfriend' of yours."

"I am not sure what you are talking about... I did not check out any news. Coach banned me from watching TV, listening to the radio, logging into any social network or looking at any website that may contain anything about me before the game. He said that it was to ensure that I don't go crazy right before the game because of something I saw or heard..."

"You really don't know? Well I mean you are photographed with her everywhere these last two days. She often has her arm wrapped around yours and... and in one she was even touching your face."

"Look I don't unders--! Ah! Oooh... I see... Well..."

"What?"

"I think I know what this is about but... she really, _really_ is not my girlfriend."

"Okay... but you were so close with her you know... You are never so close with people... except a few of us, your old friends."

Kise was almost mumbling now and slightly pouting, which Aomine thought was adorable in a way, he was keeping himself hard not to laugh,

"Yeah... that's true... I really didn't want to tell you this but--"

"Oh My God! Is she really your girlfriend? Or wait, you took her to all this luxury brand stores... and you said she is not your girlfriend before... Is... Is she the mother of your child? An old one-night-stand that resurfaced with a child?"

"Ow, God, Kise, what the...?! Why would you even think that?! It's Satsuki! God damn it... How could you say that?! Even thinking of that... it is weird. Ugh... plus, I am always very careful about safe sex."

"Huh? Momocchi?"

"Yes... it was Satsuki."

"Why would she be here?"

"Argh... I can't believe it. She will kill me... But I did tell her that we didn't have to make it a surprise. I am just not cut out for surprises..."

"What are you talking about?"

"As I said, I realised that you were frustrated and I was a little too and I was not sure how to help you... so I thought spending some time with everyone would cheer you up, since you are so attached to them, and plus I thought maybe they could help you better than I could at this point... to decide you know... about me. About us... Whatever."

"Wait... you mean?"

"Yes. I invited them over for the season opener. It is going to be a good game too you know, I thought it would be fun. But damned... Satsuki begged to keep it a secret so that it would be a big surprise when you first saw them at the game venue."

"So... everyone... everyone came?"

"Almost everyone, Kagami had to stay back since he has his own matches. Rest all came; Satsuki, Tetsu, Murasakibara, Akashi, Midorima. Apparently Takao also decided to tag along with Midorima so even he came."

"I cannot believe it... this is so nice to hear. I had missed them a lot."

"Yeah... I know."

"So where are they?"

"Akashi apparently rented a luxury 5 bedroom apartment in Lower Manhattan for them for the whole week and a half. But Satsuki and Tetsu for some reason wanted to stay at my place yesterday, so they spent the last night here. Today Satsuki kept bugging me to take her to shopping so I took her to shopping with Tetsu and then we met up with others. By evening I was so tired and they still had places they wanted to go so I told them that I was going home... Satsuki and Tetsu will stay with others tonight."

Kise was slightly pouting again, Aomine sighed,

"You are upset because we all went out without you, right?"

"Of course... that is so mean..."

"I knew it! I told them... I told Satsuki you would be upset and feel left out but she begged and said that we still had a whole week to spend together after the game and the joyful, surprising reunion would make you so happy... So I accepted it..."

Kise slowly touched Aomine's face with his finger tips and then caressed his hair, then giggled to himself...

"She will kill you for spilling the beans to me..."

"I know. But I had not choice, did I?"

"No you did not... It is funny how you were out with Momocchi and Kurokocchi but in the photos it is only you and Momocchi. Kurokocchi has such low presence that he doesn't even register with onlookers or paparazzi I guess."

"That damned ghost... He probably realised and stayed in the blind spots deliberately. I didn't even realise people photographed us. I was busy being dragged around by Satsuki... She made me buy her so much stuff. As if she is not earning enough, I mean she works for Akashi! She just loves being spoiled and torturing me."

"Hmm... in one of the photos she was touching your face. Now that I know it is her, I get it... but I was so mad when I saw it. You would never let me touch your face like that when we were young... yet a stranger was so freely caressing it."

"You can touch it as much as you want now..."

"I can?"

"Yeah, you can..."

Aomine whispered in a low voice and slowly laid his head on Kise's lap, facing to the side. He closed his eyes as Kise gently caressed his face and short hair with his soft finger tips,

"Aominecchi..."

"Yes?"

"I love you..."

Aomine smiled innocently, almost like a child, and mumbled back as he gently pushed his head further into Kise's lap,

"I love you too..."

 


	20. Chapter 20

To save Aomine from Momoi's wrath, Kise suggested that he would play dumb and let them "surprise" him. Aomine liked this idea a lot. Before the game, according to the "surprise plan", Aomine was to ask Kise to wait outside for a few minutes making some excuses, then he would show up with the gang, "surprising" Kise. Then he would go back to his team since he did not have much time to spend idle before the game and the others would go to their designated seats.

It almost went smooth, with Kise looking at the gang with large eyes, laughing, hugging, crying "Oh My God! I am so happy to see you guys! I never expected..." Kuroko though slightly raised his eyebrow and stayed silent. Momoi was at first the most hyped up one, "Do you have a new hair style Ki-chan? When did you change it? It looks so cute on you!", and Aomine hoped that "mission" was accomplished. He looked at Kise and for a second when their eyes met, he slightly winked, kept hard himself from laughing, and yelled "oh well guys, I have to go now."

"You are not going anywhere."

"Huh? What the heck Satsuki?!"

"You told him didn't you?"

"Huh? What... what are you talking about?"

"You told him about us. You told him that we are here. You spoiled our surprise!"

"Oh come on... you are just making things up now."

"Tetsu-kun, you tell me."

"Why me?"

"Because you would realise with great certainty for sure."

"Akashi-kun did too, actually, probably."

"Aha! I knew it! Kise was not really surprised, was he?"

"No he was not... When he is really surprised, while smiling and laughing, he makes this weird shocked face where his mouth does a small 'o'. He never did it today. He just kept smiling and laughing and instead yelled 'Ah!' or 'Oh!' to sound surprised."

Momoi turned her accusing and angry gaze at Aomine, who was glaring at Kuroko,

"I cannot believe you Dai-chan! You promised!"

"I have to go to the season opener and you are seriously wasting my time on this?"

"So you are not even rejecting it anymore..."

"Yes I told him. But there was a very good reason for it. I just had to..."

"What do you mean you had to? Obviously you did not. You just never can keep secrets can you? You don't care about us or him... You are so insensitive."

"Oi! Don't say that. It is... I... I had to. Look I am sorry."

Momoi was about to start yelling when Kise cleared his throat a little loudly, and as he talked his cheeks were slightly red,

"Um... actually Momocchi, it is really not Aominecchi's fault. I kind of forced him to spill it..."

"What? But how would you even guess that we were here or that he was hiding it for a surprise?"

"Well... some photographs of you and Aominecchi were taken by onlookers and paparazzi and they are actually pretty popular on the web right now, you probably did not have much time to check it out since you were busy sightseeing and all..."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, fans call you Aominecchi's 'mysterious girlfriend'. And I became a little jealous... I thought he had really found a girlfriend, so I confronted Aominecchi about it and well... yeah..."

Aomine was surprised how Kise was exposing them so easily like this. They had not decided on anything the night before. After Kise had left, in his daze of both happiness and uncertainty, he had sent a message, just to reassure himself,

"Kise, when I said 'together'... I did mean to be 'together'. Always. And not just as friends."

And the simple reply he received was so unlike Kise that he had had doubts,

"I know... and I agree."

So hearing Kise tell this to their friends, essentially informing them of a special bond the two shared... it was unexpected, but very much welcome. Aomine smiled at Kise's flushed face but knew that he had to leave as soon as possible if he did not want to be held up even further by Momoi,

"You... heard Kise. So yeah... Anyway, I got to go. See you all after the game!"

And Aomine ran away just like that, leaving a bunch of very confused faces all staring at Kise in slightly differing but equally surprised gazes, well, except one. Akashi, this time, cleared his throat, and told them that it was also the time they started going to their seats. All followed the leader and as they walked, none talked, but both Momoi and Kuroko watched Kise closely with their eyes and feeling these gazes Kise felt even more timid.

The moment they sat in their seats, Momoi quickly changed hers with Midorima, who was initially sitting next to Kise but did not mind moving away from the blond the slightest bit since he knew very well that Kise would be just way too noisy during the game.

"Were you serious? Were you really... like jealous?"

"Um... yeah. But I mean considering... him and me... and I didn't know it was you in the photos either so... It is normal... right?"

"Yeah but... I mean... does that mean you two are?"

"Ah... well... I don't know. I guess? It is rather complicated."

"Oh My God!"

"Momoi, please keep your voice down. It is very improper."

"Ah, be quiet Midorin. Who cares, really?! Ki-chan, when did this happen?"

"Um... nothing really happened per se. It is complicated... as I said... we are just..."

"Aw, whatever, fine, just take it easy but God, I am so happy!"

Momoi simply threw herself to Kise and hugged him close.

"God, Momoi, sit down properly. Everyone is looking at us because of you."

"I don't care. I told you to be quiet Midorin."

"You are crazy! And Takao, for God's sake stop laughing."

"Ah Sacchin~ if I were you I would listen to Midochin."

"Why is it that you are all against me today? Even you Mukkun?!"

"It is just that Akachin is looking at you and he seems annoyed."

"Uh? Akashi-kun?"

"Let's keep it down. We do not want to attract much attention, do we now?"

"Um, yeah, you are right. Of course."

Momoi slowly sank back to her seat but frustration was obvious in her face, Akashi silently added,

"We will have a lot of time tonight after the game to discuss and talk anything we like... in a less public place without so many cameras. Now let's focus, the game will start soon."

"Yes."

They all went silent at Akashi's comments but the silence, obviously, lasted only till the actual start of the game. From then on it was like a shouting match between Momoi and Kise who both yelled and cheered and booed and clapped at various moments, almost never sitting down on their seats. By the end of second quarter Takao also joined to them, much to Midorima's annoyance.

"But Shin-chan, how can you not be excited?! It so amazing!" was Takao's very valid excuse.

Kuroko was mostly silent, however now and then he would be dragged up by Momoi, who hugged him as part of her joy over a particularly good shot or forced him to cheer with her during the exciting attacks. Akashi observed silently, made comments now and then, mostly to Midorima and Murasakibara, to which Midorima often replied properly and Murasakibara would mumble in agreement or ask questions. Even Murasakibara was excited at moments though, to the point that in the last few seconds of the third quarter, when due to some unexpectedly fast Boston attacks Knicks' lead almost disappeared, he dropped the snack he was eating to cheer at an unbelievable block that Aomine pulled.

Near the end of the second half time, Kuroko commented calmly,

"His... style has changed, hasn't it? Throughout the whole game, he did not only think of himself or to lead by himself but actually helped ensure better gameplay across the team. Even his gestures at the breaks and the passes he took and gave... He is more of a team player. I have not seen him play like this for years..."

Kise smiled at the comment, "you will see more of it in the future Kurokocchi, don't worry..." he said a little cryptically, but perhaps it was not so cryptic to all as Akashi replied,

"He is growing. He is still young, he has been learning. He has become more mature in every aspect of his life, surely his basketball will follow. He will be the perfect ace."

Kise agreed wholeheartedly as he saw Aomine pass the ball smoothly to a teammate, yet some part of him pouted a little at this. He knew the reason and it was some kind of jealousy though a lot different than the kind his mind and soul had been busy with in the recent weeks... He wanted to be on the court. He wanted to be the one blocking Aomine or receiving the pass from him. How long had it been since the last time he received a pass from Aomine? When the game ended with Aomine's team's victory and Aomine fist-bumped with, hugged, or patted the shoulders of his teammates, Kise, despite cheering sincerely and feeling very happy at his victory, also felt rather sad inside. How long had it been since the last time he received a pat on the shoulder after a game? He loved Aomine on court, but he loved Aomine on court like this even more, so his despair on his absence on that court, on his inability to be on that court with Aomine hurt even more. He continued cheering though, hugged both Momoi and Kuroko and even a very irritated Midorima, very sincerely too, out of the happiness the victory induced in him.

How can one be a little sad even in very happy moments? How was this possible? How did the human soul and emotions work, Kise could never fathom. Once Aomine was able to join them outside, they decided to go to a small but classy restaurant that was only a 15 minutes walk away. Driving to anywhere at the post-game traffic would be crazy and a 15 minute walk didn't scare any of them, so they walked. Akashi led the troupe, with Midorima on his side, Takao on Midorima's. Murasakibara followed the trio a step behind with a lollipop in his mouth and about 6 other lollipops in his pockets. He had given one to Takao as well so now Midorima was scolding them both on how inappropriate was it for grown men to suck on lollipops outside, while Takao simply teased him and made very suggestive jokes, which only helped make Midorima more furious. Akashi on the other hand seemed to enjoy silently listening to all this rumbling and teasing. Aomine and Momoi with a silent Kuroko along, were walking behind those four. Momoi was talking about certain interesting points in the game and various issues she had observed in Aomine's gameplay, Aomine was giving her partial answers with an emphasised boredom, which drove her mad and she scolded him even more. Kise was walking alongside them albeit with a slightly slower pace so that he was very slightly lagging behind and though he was smiling as he watched Momoi and Aomine bicker, his mind was elsewhere.

"How can one be a little sad even in very happy moments?" the question appeared in his mind again. He was, admittedly, very happy at that moment. Yet something, somehow felt missing and he actually knew what that 'something' was though he was scared to pronounce it. They would never be young again. They would never be on the same court again. He would never receive Aomine's or Kuroko's passes, hear Momoi's cheering or directives for them... He would never feel Aomine's pat on his shoulder at the break or at the end of a particularly good game. Surely they would play one-on-one and Aomine would perhaps encourage him or pat him on the shoulder afterwards. But it was not the same. There was a picture of them from middle school, celebrating victory post-game, Aomine's arm was draped over Kise's shoulder and they were both smiling, Aomine actually laughing. Their faces were so innocent and they joy was so pure, the euphoria of that moment was so important... Kise loved the picture and still remembered the moment it was taken very well. He still kept it. After all the years, all the good and bad things they each went through, he kept that single photograph. After his knee failing, after saying goodbye to his dreams of basketball, he kept that single photograph. Sure, Aomine wrapped his arm over his shoulder now and then after playing one-on-ones. But it was not the same. They would be happy but that innocent joy was all gone and the sense of accomplishment and deep camaraderie that only came from being a team were gone as well. Being a team was different than playing solo and he had loved being a team with them, with Aomine. If he could be rivals, he was up for that too. He would love that too. He had experienced and savoured it in high school. But it was impossible now for him. How could others stand not being part of basketball actively? Why was he so stuck over basketball, whereas Midorima or Kuroko or Akashi or Murasakibara did not seem to be? He woke up from his thoughts and blinked a couple of times when he felt a warm arm wrap around his. Aomine, apparently, had slowed his pace a bit down as well and had wrapped his arm around Kise's loosely, so that now they were walking arm in arm. Realising this Kise looked around for Momoi with whom Aomine was bickering earlier. However, she now seemed to be glued to Kuroko, complaining about Aomine, and the cold weather, and the media as she showed Kuroko something on her phone.

"She just discovered the actual scope of the rumours about me and her and she is furious..."

"Ah... I see..."

"God... it is so damn cold tonight for some reason. It is so windy."

"Yeah."

"You know you were smiling -and you still are- and looking at us like that but you were not listening at all to our conversation, were you?"

"Huh? Why do you say that?"

"At one point she teased me about failing to make that block near the beginning of the first quarter because I was too busy being lovestruck."

Kise blushed hearing this and Aomine laughed,

"Yeah, I figured you would blush like this if you actually heard it. What are you thinking so intensely that you are missing out being with rest of the gang? I thought you really missed them... You even cried when I was in Japan..."

"Oh I missed them. A lot. And I am happy to be with everyone... I was not thinking anything particular, just a little daydreaming, you don't have to be a worrywart Aominecchi."

Kise giggled a little nervously and Aomine sneaked a little closer to Kise so that their figures touched closely; it seemed that he was not concerned about these public displays of affection, they were not walking at a back alley or deserted road either, they were walking in the middle of downtown, and their faces and Aomine's feelings for Kise were now widely known but Kise thought that not being concerned or anxious over public displays of affection – if he truly felt that affection – was something very 'Aomine'.

"I know what you were thinking... and it was something particular..."

"Oh, was it, now?"

"Yeah. You were thinking of basketball. You were thinking of just how much you wanted to play basketball."

"Heh, there is no fooling you huh Aominecchi? At least when it comes to basketball."

"I am very insightful when it is about basketball. I also like to think that I am still the one who knows you the best."

"You do I guess..."

"So that's why, I registered all of us for the streetball tournament at the Cage, this Sunday."

"Huh?! Streetball tournament?!"

Kise had exclaimed a little loudly so he caught others' attention, "oh that..." Kuroko said, calmly like always, "you are such a bother..." Midorima sighed, "don't say that Shin-chan... I am sure it will be fun, I'll cheer for you!" Takao teased, "don't be so grouchy Shintarou, as Kazunari said, I am sure it will be very enjoyable and fun. It will be nostalgic too, surely." Akashi added. Lastly "I'll be fine as long as you buy me cronuts as you promised Minechin." Murasakibara commented, while Momoi simply laughed cheerfully.

"Wait... when you say all of us... so? And everyone else knew?"

"Oh... I guess when I spilled the beans I forgot to tell you about this particular surprise. Yeah, everyone else knows."

"I can't believe you Aominecchi. This is great. But wait... are you going to be playing as well? If it is an amateur tournament, they wouldn't, shouldn't allow you in..."

"Well apparently as part of fostering the basketball culture of New York, the tournament itself is sponsored by our team. A single day streetball tournament. Earlier, I suggested that each of our regulars form a separate team, so that we will be promoting the team itself as well. They all liked it."

"So you mean your teammates will also be forming teams and they will be the ones we'll play against?"

"Yep. And we are going to own them so hard. Haha... it is going to be perfect."

"And this was the person you were calling 'growing' and 'more mature', Akashi?" Midorima commented, glancing at Akashi who was smiling,

"I didn't say 'fully' grown or mature though..."

"Ah! But his boyish charm and childish attitude, especially towards basketball, is what makes Aominecchi the cutest!" Kise commented, and while Momoi, Kuroko, and Takao laughed at this, Akashi very silently chuckled, Murasakibara smiled a little sarcastically, and Midorima – Midorima almost smiled... almost. Aomine on the other hand was a little irritated,

"Stop ganging up on me. And what growing or maturing? I am mature enough..." Aomine said and almost pouted, to which Kise simply lost it,

"Oh My God! Aominecchi, are you pouting? Please don't stop I have to take a picture of this..."

"Argh! You are so irritating!" Aomine replied with a mock anger and elbowed Kise playfully,

"Domestic violence? I can't believe you can fall this low Aomine-kun." Kuroko commented, the calm and serious demeanour of his voice only amplifying the ironic amusement of his comment, and everyone just burst out laughing...

"Oi! Don't say that even as a joke. I would never hurt him."

Aomine's answer was so serious that everyone for a second stopped walking and just stared at him,

"Stop looking at me like that. I am serious. I am offended even at the joke of that."

"Aw... I know you are not like that Aominecchi!" Kise leaned himself to Aomine's side and placed his head on Aomine's shoulder, everyone fell a little silent though Takao and Momoi were still giggling a little, Kuroko simply smiled, Murasakibara gave surprised and inquiring glances now and then at the couple almost not believing to what just had happened. Midorima glanced back once and then said, so silently that only Akashi heard him,

"Aomine really loves him..."

The statement did not hold any perceivable emotion in it; Midorima was not conveying an emotion or a comment of his. Midorima was simply stating a fact. And observation. Akashi smiled deeper hearing the statement and commented, in an equally silent tone that only Midorima near him heard,

"He indeed does."

 


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the latest chapter of this story. I was planning to write an epilogue but I did not have the time. 
> 
> I think I am satisfied with how this story turned out; I tried to illustrate how both Aomine and Kise would mature a little over the time, I hope I was successful in that. I still like them being a little childish and timid with each other though, especially within the context of this story.
> 
> So here, have some final fluff. I suck at writing comedy, so bear with me in those parts...

Aomine had affairs to handle and Kise had to attend a new magazine's launch party on Saturday, so they only met with others and each other at the evening when they all went out to have a late dinner together. They didn't want to stay too late though, as the next day was the big day of the tournament. Apparently, a few of Aomine's teammates had very good connections; one had formed a team from several well-known college players with high potentials, another had formed it from his streetball bodies none of whom were pros but had great street cred for their talents, and another had a sister who played in WNBA and he had a few recently retired WNBA players in his team. It was going to be tough but all the joking and mocking he had received when he had announced his teammates that he would be participating with his old middle school teammates, had pumped Aomine tremendously. _How dare they belittle Teikou?!_ Not that Aomine particularly cared about Teikou as a school, but he had to show and prove them the devastatingly talented basketball their school once had. The team was compromised of the regulars from back then; Akashi was the Point Guard, Midorima was the Shooting Guard, Murasakibara was the Center, Kise was the Small Forward, and Aomine was, of course, the Power Forward. Kuroko was the sixth man.

It was Aomine who dropped Kise off to his home on Saturday evening and when they reached in front of Kise's building, a strange silence engulfed both of them. Due to the never ending high tempo of the last few days they never had the time to actually sit down and talk about their relationship, just  _what_  they actually were to each other, or how to move forward. While they did have fun these days, the lack of a resolution and the uncertainty were bothering both a little. The one to break the silence was Aomine,

"This is stupid."

"Huh?"

"I mean... I was not this awkward even when I first went out with a girl. In middle school."

Kise laughed, he was not used to Aomine confessing his own awkwardness or weaknesses or feelings, "this" was new and he knew that it was Aomine trying his best to be more expressive about his feelings after the conversation they had the last Thursday.

"Well... it is new for both of us I guess. We are friends after all. It is different when you suddenly start... dating your friend."

"Hmm... we haven't really gone to a date you know."

"I am hoping we will."

"Obviously, I am not that ignorant you know... but you know how it had been these few days it just has been crazy..."

"I know. And I am happy. You have been... very caring. And I see that you are trying your best. I am happy."

"Really? Are you?"

Kise looked at the sincerely concerned face of Aomine and at that moment realised fully that indeed it was not only him who was insecure and who worried endlessly about how diving into the adventure of being lovers could break their previous friendship... Aomine was insecure as well, Aomine worried too. He mostly did not show it but here he was looking at him with expectant and hopeful eyes that conveyed the fragility of the heart of a young man as well. Kise smiled, gently, softly, kindly, and though he himself was not sure if this was the right way to initiate a straight man, though he honestly had never dated a straight man before, he leaned towards Aomine and gave him a simple, almost innocent but a bit too long to be innocent kiss on the lips. When he separated their lips and their eyes were so close to each other, he could see the change in Aomine's gaze, a sense of security and relief as well as some kind of astonishment were born in the deep azure orbs. The blond loved this. He licked his lips, the way one would lick them right after eating honey, then he leaned his forehead to Aomine's and let them touch a little. He closed his eyes and said again, this time in a sweet whisper,

"I am happy."

Aomine did not say anything in return but the peaceful expression on his face told enough. It was Kise who broke the sensuous touch, then playfully winked as he opened the door of the car,

"I have to go and sleep now! Big day tomorrow! Go to build up energy!"

"Yeah... um, see ya."

"See ya, Aominecchi."

Kise walked to his building knowing full well that Aomine had not yet moved the car, stuck in the same place, watching him walk, then he entered his building and just a few seconds after as he started climbing the stairs, he heard the noise of the car's engine, the blare of it moving away. A painfully sweet yearning already crept up in his chest and he thought that he was being just too much, a little maturity would not hurt, he did not have to act like a teenager with the first crush of his life. But then Aomine was the first crush of his life, and this was for all intents and purposes Aomine's first real "relationship" too... So perhaps they were a little immature, perhaps they were a little too naïve, a little too bashful, a little too helpless at this. Perhaps it was the fragility of the situation and the concerns and worries that led them to this timidity; whatever was the reason, it felt a little like Spring, effervescent yet anxious, not Winter but not Summer either, a new beginning marking an end with great hopes that would need nurturing. He was deep in these musings as he entered his apartment and his phone vibrated, it was a two words long text from Aomine:

"Good night."

Kise smiled as he moved towards his bedroom...

The next day, it was Aomine who picked Kise up and they met rest of the "rainbow troupe" plus the tag along Takao for breakfast. Breakfast was delicious and Aomine would now and then add stuff to Kise's plate,

"You got to be kidding me... Stuff putting extra stuff on my plate Aominecchi. If I wanted to eat them, I would order them."

"You lost weight, didn't you? You should eat."

"I didn't lose much weight plus I already started gaining some back. And I am a model, I have to be careful."

"Yes, be careful, of your career and your health. Eat these fruits too."

"Now you are just giving me the fruits that you don't like."

"Whatever, just eat them."

Kise was about to reply but their bickering was interrupted by a loud laugh of Momoi,

"You guys are just too cute!"

Aomine almost choked on his food,

"Do-Don't say... cute. We are not cute. I mean... I am not cute."

"Oh My God... look at him correcting himself! So you are not cute, but Ki-chan is huh?"

"Satsuki I swear to God..."

"But Momoi-san, it is normal that Aomine-kun finds Kise-kun cute. Why would he fall in love with him otherwise?" Kuroko cut off Aomine's cursing, Midorima snorted,

"Please, there is nothing cute about Kise."

Midorima said matter-of-factly, and Momoi instantly gave a death glare to him. Midorima seemed not to mind the glare from Momoi, however, he did actually choke on his own food in the next second when Takao chimed in,

"I mean I wouldn't say there is 'nothing' cute about Kise, I think there are some things, his personality is like sunshine after all... but let's admit it, rather than cute, Kise is sexy. _Damn sexy_. I mean if Aomine is dating him, it must be because of that right?"

Midorima continued coughing, breathing hard, as he gulped down the whole glass of water in front of him to ease his throat and quickly yelled at Takao,

"How... How can you say something like that?"

"Oh... are you jealous Shin-chan? Sorry but you are not sexy like Kise. I mean good looking, handsome... but Kise oozes with sex appeal."

Kise was enjoying this as he giggled continuously, Kuroko was smiling, Momoi was laughing uncontrollably, and Akashi was silently eating his breakfast. A shocked and a little ticked off Aomine very much wanted to end this particular line of discussion though:

"Anyway, we should talk about the game."

"Aomine-kun, are you trying to change the subject because Takao-kun is right about Kise-kun's sex appeal alluring you, or is it because you do not want to discuss Kise-kun's sex appeal because you are perhaps jealous?"

"What is wrong with you people?! I hate you. I hate you all. I wish I was not supposed to play with you but against you so I could beat all your asses."

"He is not sexy." Midorima commented, as he stared at Kise intently, like a scientist observing his test subject carefully, and continued,

"I admit, he has a very symmetric face that most would deem beautiful. But I don't see how he is sexy. Does he secrete special pheromones or something?"

At this almost everyone lost it – almost part being the now helpless and pissed Aomine and the silent and calm Akashi. Then Akashi wiped his mouth gracefully and announced,

"While it is rather amusing to see Daiki teased by you all, I have to agree that we should talk about the tournament and our gameplay. We will be facing strong opponents and I know all of us train regularly but a good strategy is key to the victory."

This was what finally helped others to cease laughing, except Midorima, who was already not laughing but simply looking at everyone in a peculiarly puzzled way, and they started talking about various strategies and shared what they knew about their opponents. Momoi had apparently spent the night researching and she had come up with some perfect statistics and intelligence like always.

When they later moved to the venue of the tournament, the famous streeball court of New York, the Cage, Midorima and Takao took a taxi with Momoi and Kuroko tagging along them, whereas Akashi drove the large SUV he had rented with Murasakibara. Aomine drove Kise and it was obvious that the reason others, at least Momoi and Kuroko didn't tag along with them was to let the couple have some time and privacy, which was something very new in their relationship with their friends, so both felt content but also a little awkward about it. They spent most of the drive silent or making small talk, a few minutes away from the venue though, at a red light Aomine could not help but ask,

"You are okay?"

"Huh?"

"My teammates... will be there. Many people will there. Some people from local media too."

"I know. I had realised this already."

"And you are fine... being there with me?"

"Others will be there too so I am hoping that they won't focus on us two a lot... but in any case, I am fine."

"Okay..."

"I trust you... you know Aominecchi... I agree with you, together maybe we can do this, we can resolve this, and we can endure them too."

Kise's hand slowly reached to Aomine's and even though neither looked at the other, their hands found each other easily and they held hands like that for a few seconds, only breaking apart when the traffic light turned to green.

"I am assuming that this means we will be honest... with them... with everyone?"

"I still would like to keep our privacy to us but yes, I think we could... let them know that we are a proper 'we' now. I am already outed and it is hard for you any other way I think..."

"I could try it if you preferred to keep it a secret."

"Thank you, I know you would. But I think I want to try this too..."

"Okay."

Kise smiled to himself as he continued watching outside from the car's window and this city that had not been particularly lovely to him for quite a few months now looked very beautiful for some reason.

When they reached to the venue and started looking around, the first comment came from Midorima,

"But this is... too small."

"Yeah, no spectacularly long and high shots that take ages to complete, for you. Let's see how useful you can be in close combat."

"Shut up Aomine, just because you are a professional player now does not mean that we are any less talented."

"The court being small and not standard size is a problem but we have already thought about it when we devised our strategy, so we should be fine", Akashi said indifferently. They started talking about gameplay at their own corner while Kuroko complained silently, "it is too cold for this..."

A few minutes later two of Aomine's teammates, the ones he was closest to, Nate Johnson, the small forward, and Tim Stockton, the point guard and the captain came by to say "hi" and to meet with the team that everyone was the most curious about: "Generation of Miracles". Momoi had wanted to name their team "Rainbow Troupe" but Midorima had been vehemently against it and Aomine had thought it was too silly, so she had gone ahead and registered them under their famous nickname. Not that any of them liked this name much either.

"Hey Aomine! Aren't you going to introduce your teammates to us?"

"You will be introduced at the beginning of the games, won't you?"

"Oh stop being so grumpy, you know everyone is very curious. You boasted too much."

"Yeah well whatever, fine. Here is Akashi Seijuurou, CEO of Akashi Investment and a senior VP in Akashi International, he is our point guard."

Both of them were a bit puzzled at the long credentials of the young man in front of them who had a very youthful face.

"The next, green head, is our shooting guard, Midorima Shintarou. He is a neurosurgeon."

"I am not yet a neurosurgeon Aomine, I am only a doctor, I am still doing my residency, I have 4 years to be a neurosurgeon."

"Whatever Midorima, as if anybody cares. Anyway, the next is Murasakibara Atsushi. He is our center, well, I guess that is obvious from his size huh? He is a pastry chef."

Nate and Tim couldn't help but exchange glances; the idea of the 2.12 metres tall Murasakibara, who was happily chewing on a chocolate bar as he waved his other hand, being a pastry chef and making pastry or baking seemed a little bizarre to both.

"And finally, there is... well you know him right? From the commercial I did with him. Kise Ryouta. The model, small forward."

Aomine paused for a second then added,

"And my boyfriend."

Midorima rolled his eyes, Takao and Momoi giggled as they were sitting at the bench nearby, Murasakibara glanced at Kise, Kise smiled sincerely and hoped his anxiety was not showing – and it really was not, Kise was talented at not showing his feelings – and Akashi was, well, completely unperturbed and indifferent.

"Ah yeah... we did see him before. It is nice seeing you. Hopefully we'll get to see more of your play today; you looked pretty good in the commercial." Tim said warmly to which Kise cheerfully replied, "Thank you very much. It is wonderful to actually hear that from an NBA player. We are more than ecstatic to have a chance to play with you all today."

A second of silence passed after that and then somebody cleared his throat loudly and Nate jumped back at the sudden realisation of somebody standing right next to him,

"What the...?!"

"Ah... Tetsu... I forgot you?"

"That is really not nice Aomine-kun."

"Dude, if even I can't register you at all times, after all these years, the problem is really not me but your goddamn ghost nature."

"You are being rude."

Aomine laughed, and pointed Kuroko to his team mates,

"This is Kuroko Tetsuya. He is almost like a ghost so he can give you a heart attack by suddenly appearing near you, be careful. He is our sixth man and well... he doesn't really have a traditional position, he does his own thing. You'll see it in the game, it is pretty cool actually."

"Um... okay? Nice to meet you Kuroko."

"Nice to meet you both as well."

After the introductions were over, they made some small talk before leaving to go to their respective teams for the last minute discussions, especially now that they knew a little more about the mysterious and curious team that Aomine had gathered. "Generation of Miracles" looked more like a carnival troupe or a bunch of misfits than basketball players, to be honest, and the porcelain doll that Midorima was carrying around in his hand did not help much. Except Murasakibara, they were also relatively shorter than most other teams. All this caused some relief and underestimation which later proved to be fatal for other teams.

Before the games were to start, Akashi whispered to Kise, "Ryouta, do not overexert yourself. Since each game is much shorter than regulation games, I think your knee should be fine but if you feel that it is not, inform me or Daiki instantly."

"Sure Akashicchi." Kise said and as Kuroko patted his shoulder to go out there to be with the rest of the team, Kise felt his inside warming up despite the cool weather of the Autumn day.

As their names suggested, they were miracles on the court and caught everyone by the surprise. Near the end of the first game, Kuroko was subbed in, and everyone was further shocked at the strange ability of Kuroko's that almost made it look like he was teleporting around the already small court. Midorima was specifically grouchy as he could not show off his long distance shot skills but the fact that he did not miss any single shots confused everyone else but the Miracles.

At the end of the first round of games, all which the Miracles won, Aomine's captain, Tim came by Aomine and asked,

"That green head... it is almost as if he never misses a shot huh?"

"Yeah, he does not."

"Eh?"

"He seriously does not miss a shot. This is nothing. You should see him in regulation size courts. He can even score from the whole other side of the court. And his arc is so goddamn high, you cannot block and since ball takes so long to go down you just have to stand there and watch it."

"You can't be serious!"

"I am. But then I am also the best out of them so..." Aomine laughed but his laugh was interrupted with a sharp and loud comment from Akashi

"Daiki, stop being a fool and come over, we are discussing the strategy for the next round."

"Uh okay... see you around Tim!"

Even though the matches were not easy, the Miracles went through the rest of the tournament without overexerting themselves too much. The final happened between the captain Tim Stockton and his team which involved recently retired players from WNBA and the Miracles. It was quite tough and understandably the hardest game of the day; both teams were very tired but very enthusiastic and passionate. Kise could feel that this was the most his knee could take and he would need serious help when going home after the game but he did not mind a bit. A sense of euphoria consumed him as he moved inside the relatively small streetball court, the steals, the passes, the blocks, and the fast attacks... He would copy some of their opponents' moves now and then and that would throw them off a lot. Akashi's assists were flawless, Aomine moved unpredictably with a speed that seemed inhuman, Murasakibara was like a wall that could not be shaken, every single jump shot of Midorima was successful, and Kuroko, whenever he was in the game, threw off their rivals with his unstoppable passes and extraordinary playing style. When the game ended, it was their victory.

It was exhilarating, it was astonishing, and the moment they achieved and they achieved it together, knowing that they achieved it together, a surge of happiness filled Kise's chest and he loosened his body which by now was so tired and his knee had started hurting considerably that he couldn't help but kneeling on the ground.

"Don't tell me you are crying. We won. Even you shouldn't be that sentimental."

"Shut up... Ahominecchi."

"Yeah, yeah I am stupid."

"And you are mean."

"Yeah, I am. Come on up so that we can celebrate properly..."

Aomine said and offered his hand to Kise, when Kise looked up to the hand that was offered to him and Aomine's smiling face, a little shyly because he knew very well that Aomine knew very well just how tired he was and how agitated his injury was, Aomine winked,

"Come on... we are all team mates today right? You're making others wait... Akashi will be pissed."

Kise giggled and took the hand that was offered to him. Aomine pulled him up and then wrapped his arm around Kise's shoulder, sticking him close to himself,

"You were pretty good today..."

"Wow... hearing you say that. I never thought you would."

"Shut up. I am trying out this 'being a reliable and motivating ace' thing..."

"Oh... so that's the only reason you said it? Out of courtesy?"

"Not really and you know it, you don't have to make me spell it do you..."

"Maybe I do..."

Aomine sighed in a playfully reluctant manner and continued as they moved towards rest of their friends who were laughing and talking about the game near the benches with Takao and Momoi joined as well,

"You were great... you are always great. You are the only one against whom, when playing, I feel as though I can use my full potential. But I also feel so much towards you that I can't keep my feelings from interfering in my gameplay. And it screws things. And I am happy we were teammates today so I didn't have to worry about those... And you were stunning."

"Hah... now you are making me embarrassed Aominecchi." Kise leaned his head to Aomine's as he mumbled and in any other situation he would probably try to not act so affectionate with Aomine in presence of cameras and Aomine's teammates, and the public, but really, in that moment, he had forgotten about the existence of all of them.

"Oh is that so? Well then as a payback for the last two days, I should also add that you were absolutely sexy on the court. That damned Takao is right on in that you are very sexually attractive but he forgot to add that you are the most attractive when you are savagely attacking and dominating others on the court."

At this Kise's face truly turned red,

"I can't believe you are talking about this _now_... people will hear", he mumbled,

"Hmm... when should I talk about it?"

"Later. Later somewhere... at my house or yours."

"Oh it's a promise then?"

A bleep of a camera phone was heard before Kise could answer,

"Aren't they so cute?!" Momoi giggled as she looked at the photo she took,

"Aw, it is indeed so endearing... hey Shin-chan take a look at this." Takao held the phone to Midorima's face.

"Shut up Takao. It is not endearing... it is just blatantly improper. Can't you two be more self-conscious?! You are outside!"

"While I don't necessarily agree with Midorima-kun, I must admit that if you continue this way you will give all of us cavities. Too sweet. Unbearably too sweet."

"God... just shut up you guys. We are not being sweet! I... I am not sweet."

"Oh but so Kise is?"

"Are we doing this again? Tetsu, are we really doing this again?" an agitated Aomine shouted while everyone else laughed, even Midorima included this time.

They were given small golden coloured trophies for their victory and spectators cheered a lot during the short awards ceremony; Kise speculated that some online fangirls of "Generation of Miracles" were born that day, probably. After the brief ceremony and Aomine bidding farewell to his teammates, the Miracles went to a relatively close by restaurant, and after that they also went to a bar to let some steam off and have fun. Kise was pretty tired already though so he excused himself a little early and unsurprisingly Aomine offered to drop him off. After they left Takao proposed also leaving to go to a particular night club he had read great reviews of and was very interested to see, Momoi innocently noted that they should send Aomine a text about their whereabouts then, in case he returned back to join them. Akashi, in a very calm voice replied as he asked for the bill,

"You don't have to. He will not be returning tonight."

Nobody commented on this but Takao did mumble a very suggestive "hmmm" and Momoi's face flushed a bit.

When Aomine stopped the car in front of Kise's building, neither moved nor said anything, and a silence similar to that of the night before fell on them. Kise, a little nervously, cleared his throat and suggested,

"Do... do you perhaps want to have a cup of coffee? Upstairs?"

"Huh? But you know that I don't like coffee..." was Aomine's puzzled answer which just really, made Kise lose it and he started laughing uncontrollably,

"God... Aominecchi... I cannot believe you..."

"What? Did I say something wrong? I mean I would like to come upstairs. But you know I don't drink coffee so I was confused why you asked that... I can drink tea though!"

This only exacerbated Kise's laughs and Aomine's confusion and finally a few seconds later when Kise could breath a little easier and tried his best to hold his laughs, he responded,

"You... you don't watch American films much, do you?"

"Not really."

"Yeah... well inviting your lover or date for a cup of coffee when they are dropping you off to your home at night actually in general means asking for a lover to stay the night or well... you know. It is  _suggestive_."

"Oh... Ah... Oh..." Aomine's face going through the revelation was too adorable and funny for Kise to not laugh so he continued laughing but he opened the door anyway,

"So are you coming Aominecchi?" he said and gave a mischievous look,

"Oh hell yeah I am coming then." Aomine said as he quickly removed the key of the car and Kise started laughing even more. As they walked to the building, arm in arm, Kise really could not help himself but laugh and laugh...

"Stop laughing it makes this weird..."

"I can't help it... this is so funny."

"It is not funny."

"It is funny. You are acting like a teenager."

"So are you. Plus this is... kind of my first love... and relationship. So..."

Kise then unlocked his arm and wrapped it around Aomine's waist as they entered the building,

"You are so cute."

"I am not cute."

"Oh... right right, but I am right?"

"God Kise, you too?! Stop teasing me..."

"But it is so cute to tease you..."

"Please..."

"Fine, fine... but let me say this."

"What?"

"I think it is normal we are acting like teenagers. And I think it is cute. And it is probably fine as long as we keep ourselves in check and don't do anything crazy, like what you did before with your confession in front of the media."

"Oh that's what you wanted to say... fine." Aomine mumbled and for some reason he felt very conscious of himself and of Kise's warm arm around his waist... they were waiting for the elevator.

"And... you were my first love too. So I think we can say that we are both living our first love. So what's the harm in being a little childish and a little clumsy and a little shy... a little foolish?"

"I guess none..." Aomine said and giggled slightly as they entered the elevator that had just opened its doors in front of them.

"I concur..." Kise said, with a much lower tone in his voice than usual, a sense of seriousness as well as a sense of allure, and reached to Aomine's chapped lips and licked them playfully before giving a chaste kiss.

"Aominecchi..." he whispered into the kiss again and the elevator doors closed.

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I have already finished and published on FF but its editing had been done poorly at the time. So I decided to edit each chapter and republish them here. I am not planning to change the chapter structure right now, which means it will be about 21 chapters at most. This is also my first published fan fiction so though it bears a strong inexperience, I think there are parts that I can improve upon even by just editing. I am not planning to rewrite as I lack the time for now. I hope you still can enjoy it.


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